Mashable calls the president’s gaffe the “Trump quote of the day,” leaving us open to the chance of some more dumb utterances from the leader of the country. Today’s Trump quote? “Why was there the Civil War?”
In an interview with the Washington Examiner’s Selena Zito that aired on Sirius XM radio Monday, Trump boasted that people had said his presidential campaign was most like Andrew Jackson’s 1828 campaign. Jackson, the founder of the Democratic party and seventh president of the United States, is ranked by historians in the top ten most successful presidents.
The full interview, as reported by the Associated Press:
TRUMP: They said my campaign is most like, my campaign and win was most like Andrew Jackson with his campaign. And I said, “When was Andrew Jackson?” It was 1828. That’s a long time ago. That’s Andrew Jackson. And he had a very, very mean and nasty campaign. Because they said this was the meanest and the nastiest. And unfortunately it continues.
ZITO: His wife died.
TRUMP: His wife died. They destroyed his wife and she died. And, you know, he was a swashbuckler. But when his wife died, you know, he visited her grave every day. I visited her grave actually, because I was in Tennessee.
ZITO: Oh, that’s right, you were in Tennessee.
TRUMP: And it was amazing. The people of Tennessee are amazing people. Well, they love Andrew Jackson. They love Andrew Jackson in Tennessee.
ZITO: Yeah, he’s a fascinating —
TRUMP: I mean, had Andrew Jackson been a little later, you wouldn’t have had the Civil War. He was a very tough person, but he had a big heart, and he was really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War. He said, “There’s no reason for this.” People don’t realize, you know, the Civil War, you think about it, why?
ZITO: Yeah —
TRUMP: People don’t ask that question. But why was there the Civil War? Why could that one not have been worked out?
Scrambling an historic event
Unbelievably, Trump continues to spout his half-truths and idiotic nonsense, this time about an historical event that has been studied to death. It makes me wonder why in the world his keepers let him out without someone holding a teleprompter in front of his face.
The comment about “they” destroyed her life was in reference to the news media and the negative coverage the Jacksons were hit with during his campaign. Rachel Jackson had been married once before her marriage to Jackson and believed her first husband had filed their divorce papers in 1790.
Jackson married Rachel in 1791, believing that her husband had obtained a divorce. As the divorce had never been completed, their marriage was technically bigamous and therefore invalid. But changing territories and state boundaries were the problem in getting the divorce decree filed, and soon after, the divorce was granted in 1794.
And as for “they” being responsible for Rachel’s death, she died of a probable heart attack on December 28, 1828, it was well known that her health problems began in 1825. She never served as First Lady, that position taken over by her niece, Emily Donelson. And yes, Jackson always blamed public opinion for his wife’s death.
Trump governs by keeping us confused
However, it seems more likely that Trump is doing what he does best — keeping the nation stressed out and confused with another lame notion intended to keep the news media and political pundits arguing over a battle that is now over 200-years-old. It’s bad enough that Trump finds pleasure in striking out at minorities, but resurrecting the Civil War and why it was fought is pure bull.
The one thing that stands out the most is the president’s apparent lack of a good education, and it shows in his poor sentence structure when speaking, especially when he is without written notes. He stands as a good example of why we need better education in this country.
I did love the comments on Twitter, and as the day goes on, there are sure to be much more. Here are a few quotes:
“The bad part of Trump’s comment isn’t that Jackson was dead, it’s that Jackson would have stopped the Civil War by maintaining slavery,” wrote Italian trip booker.
Herbie Ziskind commented: “Trump didn’t catch the events last week in New Orleans nor, apparently, the 65,000 books written about the Civil War.”
