President Trump argued Thursday in favor of the beauty of parks with Confederate monuments (needless to say, a questionable perspective), tweeting that "you can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson — who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!"
Despite Trump's claims that "you can't change history," a short trip down memory lane lands us at that one time Trump erected a monument at his golf course in honor of a completely made up Civil War battle:
Even though there's a monument and plaque commemorating "casualties [that] were so great the water would turn red and thus became known as 'The River of Blood'" [at Trump's National Golf Club on Lowes Island in Sterling, Virginia], all the local historians reached by The New York Times denied anything of the sort ever happened in the area."No. Uh-uh. No way. Nothing like that ever happened there," Richard Gillespie, the executive director of the Mosby Heritage Area Association, the region's historical preservation group, said. Alana Blumenthal, who curates the Loudoun Museum in nearby Leesburg, agreed there had never been a battle at or near the site, as did another expert who chose not to be named.When told about the historians' denial of the so-called River of Blood massacre, Trump replied, "How would they know that? Were they there?" [The Week]
Trump told the Times that "if people are crossing the river, and you happen to be in a civil war, I would say that people were shot — a lot of them," which unfortunately isn't how history works. Read the full story at The New York Times, and check out the inscription on Trump's statue below. Jeva Lange
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Trump’s poll collapse: can he stop the slide?Talking Point President who promised to ease cost-of-living has found that US economic woes can’t be solved ‘via executive fiat’
-
Sudoku hard: December 7, 2025The daily hard sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Codeword: December 7, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
2 MLB pitchers charged with rigging throws for betsSpeed Read Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been indicted
-
FBI nabs dozens in alleged NBA gambling ringSpeed Read Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier are among 34 people indicted in connection with federal gambling investigations
-
Trump orders NFL team to change name, or elseSpeed Read The president wants the Washington Commanders to change its name back to the 'Redskins'
-
Thunder beat Pacers to clinch NBA FinalsSpeed Read Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals
-
MLB lifts ban on Pete Rose, other dead playersspeed read 16 deceased players banned for gambling and other scandals can now be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
-
Canada beats US in charged 4 Nations hockey finalSpeed Read 'You can't take our country — and you can't take our game,' Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted after the game
-
Eagles trounce Chiefs in Super Bowl LIXspeed read The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22
-
Indian teen is youngest world chess championSpeed Read Gukesh Dommaraju, 18, unseated China's Ding Liren
