Trump Calls Confederate Statues ‘Beautiful,’ Says ‘Sad to See’ Them Torn Down

President Donald Trump on Thursday morning expressed sorrow at the removal of Confederate-era statues from various cities. “Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments,” the president wrote on Twitter. “You can’t change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson - who’s next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!” he continued, echoing his Tuesday remarks on an alleged slippery slope to removing Confederate-era monuments. “Also the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!” In that same Tuesday press conference, Trump blamed the “alt-left” for deadly violence at this weekend’s white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville, leading to a bevy of CEOs quitting his White House manufacturing council in protest, and ultimately its demise.