Harry Fletcher
Jan 07, 2024
Reuters
Donald Trump has tried to claim that the American civil war could have been prevented from happening through negotiations.
The civil war, which was fought over slavery, took place from 1861-1865 between the Union and the Confederacy.
Trump, who is currently leading the race to secure the Republican Party nomination for the 2024 presidential election and also shared a video painting himself as a messiah figure recently, spoke at a campaign rally in Newton, Iowa about the 19th century conflict.
Speaking to supporters, he said: “I’m so attracted to seeing it. There was something that could’ve been negotiated… Abraham Lincoln, if he negotiated it, we wouldn’t know who Lincoln was. He wouldn’t have been the Abraham Lincoln. But that would’ve been ok.”
The comments were met with outrage on social media, with the likes of former Republican Rep Liz Cheney criticising Trump by writing on X: “Which part of the Civil War ‘could have been negotiated’? The slavery part? The secession part? Whether Lincoln should have preserved the Union?”
She added: “Question for members of the GOP — the party of Lincoln — who have endorsed Donald Trump: How can you possibly defend this?”
Meanwhile, Trump is known for posting some pretty unhinged stuff on his Truth Social platform from time to time, but his latest video post is taking things to new levels.
The former president shared a fan-made clip which paints him out as a messiah figure, with the video having been circulated far and wide by his supporters
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