NPR

Fact Check: 'Whatabout' Those Other Historical Figures? Trump's Question Answered

It's just simply factually wrong to compare Confederate generals to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

"So this week it's Robert E. Lee. I noticed that Stonewall Jackson's coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?.... [Jefferson] was a major slave owner. Are we going to take down his statue?" — President Trump, Aug. 15, 2017


The president made this statement Tuesday while jabbing at reporters over a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., where white nationalists protested the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

And he used."

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR1 min read
Mystik Dan Wins The Kentucky Derby By A Nose
In a close finish, Mystik Dan won the Kentucky Derby by a mere horse's nostril over Sierra Leone. Contenders waited with bated breath in the seconds before the official decision was made. The thoroughbred had entered the race with 18-1 odds — a longs
NPR4 min read
'Zillow Gone Wild' Brings Wacky Real Estate Listings To HGTV
Zillow Gone Wild started in 2020 as an Instagram account devoted to eccentric property listings. The show focuses on homes that defy everyday expectations in some way.
NPR4 min read
Cicadas Are Back On The Menu. One Chef Shares His Dish Ideas — And An Easy Recipe
The cicadas are coming! And so are some new flavor profiles. This spring, the bugs of two broods, the 13-year Brood XIX and the 17-year Brood XIII, will crawl from the ground simultaneously across the eastern and southern parts of the United States.

Related Books & Audiobooks