TRUMP ON PULLING DOWN STATUES IN AMERICA

There are at least three mindsets on who believe they know what Trumps believes on this issue. First, it is a dog whistle to racist Americans: defend southern racists by defending their heros. The second point of view is that of Law-And-Order. And the third is that it is politics and only politics. But what exactly has Trump said on the topic.

We have a statues act, a monument act, which puts you in jail for ten years for what they’ve done.

What does Trump mean by “for what they’ve done” is a question the press ask, with all sorts of racist intentions assumed by the phrase. But it is important to listen to the rest of what he had to say.

They were after Andrew Jackson. You know Andrew Jackson, the Battle of New Orleans … He was a very good president, a great general.

President and General Andrew Jackson played a significant role in fighting off the British in the early founding of America. But at the same time, the wealth of Jackson in his Northern Virginia home at his property named “The Hermitage” was enabled by slavery. Jackson was a slave owner. I can see the obvious controversy of wanting to honor someone who helped give birth to America while at the same time wanting to be honest about the dark side slavery played in his life. That is what the Hermitage historical group does today. They tell the stories of the enslaved individuals who lived there. Is Andrew Jackson worthy of remembering for his good contributions? Its a reasonable question.

They are after Abraham Lincoln… we have the Emancipation Proclamation … the statue was paid for by slaves.

The statue in question shows a slave getting up off the ground in relationship to Abraham Lincoln. It was originally paid for by slaves and a society of black American slave descendants physically got in front of protestors to keep them from pulling down the work. Trump acknowledged the controversy of the presentation of the enslaved person in the work.

And we can take things down too, and I understand that, but it ought to go through a process, and take it down legally.

This is the most curious statement to me. Here Trump is saying that he gets why people want to take down certain statues. In some cases, like some on the left have said, maybe they are better suited for a museum that unpacks the history with nuance rather than memorialized in a park setting. In all cases, however, he states that there is a process for that and communities should go through the process rather than leave statue removal to whomever ideologically opposes it on that particular day.

What Trump has said here is pretty simple, and not really so controversial. You have to be willing to apply all sorts of racism notions to it and assume dog whistles and motivation to make it out to be something bad.