Trump says Civil War ‘could have been negotiated’

[libertybele]

Trump says Civil War ‘could have been negotiated’

 Former President Donald Trump on Saturday suggested the Civil War could have been avoided through “negotiation,” arguing that the fight to end slavery in the US was ultimately unnecessary and that Abraham Lincoln should have done more to avoid bloodshed.

“So many mistakes were made. See, there was something I think could have been negotiated, to be honest with you,” Trump said at a campaign event in Newton, Iowa. “I think you could have negotiated that. All the people died. So many people died.”

The former president’s comments come a little over a week before the first-in-the-nation caucuses in Iowa, where he has a significant lead in the polls over his closest rivals, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

The Civil War has emerged as unlikely talking point on the GOP primary trail. More than a week before Trump’s comments, Haley answered a question about the cause of the Civil War without mentioning slavery – the driving force behind the war. She has since backtracked, repeatedly saying she thought the fact went without saying.

Trump’s remarks were not made in response or reference to Haley’s.

In fact, there were a series of efforts before the Civil War began to cut a deal to save the Union. But the future of slavery in the South could not be settled through compromise and the nation went to war with itself. Trump did not say how he would have prevented the conflict, which he also called “so horrible but so fascinating.”

“It was, I don’t know, it was just different,” Trump said of the war. “I just find it – I’m so attracted to seeing it.”

After describing the wounds soldiers sustained on the battlefield, Trump said, “There’s nothing nice about it,” adding the war was a “tough one for our country.”

He also suggested that Lincoln would not have the same historical cachet “if he negotiated it.”.................

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/06/politics/trump-civil-war-negotiated/index.html

[Timber Rattler]

What an idiot.  I guess he never heard of the Compromises of 1820 and 1850.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Oh boy, more Foot in Mouth Disease.

So many things wrong with this I don’t know where to start.

Except to say besides the obvious, Trump again proves himself NOT a great speaker and definitely not an Orator.  Why people think he’s such a great speaker I don’t get.  Simpleton phrases, repeated short phrases, childish teenage-like statements.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

What a moron.

Seven states seceded before Lincoln was even inaugurated.  How the hell was he supposed to negotiate when he wasn't even President??

[LMAO]

Lol...


That's our nominee, folks.

The Democrats are going to eat him alive for breakfast

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Lol...


That's our nominee, folks.

The Democrats are going to eat him alive for breakfast

I want 2024 to be the last year Trump has any significant influence over the GOP.

[Wingnut]

What an ass hole.

[cato potatoe]

Better Than Lincoln!

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Trump should be ask what he believes Lincoln should have offered the seceding states to reverse their decision.

[catfish1957]

What an idiot.  I guess he never heard of the Compromises of 1820 and 1850.

Read my mind on that one.  Trump needs to steer clear commenting on items based on his knowledge of history.

[catfish1957]

Speaking of CW history, here is a neat searchable web based database of Confederate Veteran Magazine.  It was published 1893-1932, and has many fascinating articles of 1st hand accounts of the war.  I have one great great grand uncle in the 45th GA, that wrote at least 6 articles of his experiences.  Fascinating stuff.

https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=confedvet

[Hoodat]

Trump should be ask what he believes Lincoln should have offered the seceding states to reverse their decision.

Maybe $7 trillion in new debt would have done the trick.

[catfish1957]

Maybe $7 trillion in new debt would have done the trick.

Or offer to turn Ft. Sumpter into a Trump Resort........

[DefiantMassRINO]

Americans had been attempting to negotiate the issue of slavery from the Constitutional Convention of 1787 until the start of the Civil War in 1862.

1.) Abraham Lincoln did not secede South Carolina from the Union.
2.) Abraham Lincoln did not fire upon Fort Sumter.
3.) Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by a Confederate sympathizer AFTER the Civil War ended.

Orange Is The New Stupid.

[Hoodat]

1.) Abraham Lincoln did not secede South Carolina from the Union.
2.) Abraham Lincoln did not fire upon Fort Sumter.
3.) Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by a Confederate sympathizer AFTER the Civil War ended.

Abraham Lincoln took military action against the Commonwealth of Virginia four days after their secession vote.  The sole reason for the war was preserving the union against secession.  With the hindsight of history, it proved to be the best course of action.  But there wasn't a damn thing 'Constitutional' about it.

The bottom line is that the concerns and complaints of the South had been ignored for forty years before war finally broke out.  And today, the concerns and complaints of the people against the massive mountain of debt placed upon us has also gone unheeded for decades.  Except this time, it isn't going to be State against State. 

[mountaineer]

Speaking of CW history, here is a neat searchable web based database of Confederate Veteran Magazine.

Thanks for that. I'll try to find mention of the Virginia companies of my ancestors.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Americans had been attempting to negotiate the issue of slavery from the Constitutional Convention of 1787 until the start of the Civil War in 1862.

1.) Abraham Lincoln did not secede South Carolina from the Union.
2.) Abraham Lincoln did not fire upon Fort Sumter.
3.) Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by a Confederate sympathizer AFTER the Civil War ended.

Orange Is The New Stupid.

Trump apparently is ignorant of the main reason the Republican Party came into existence in the first place, which was opposition by Northern members of the Whig party to the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the abandonment of the Missouri Compromise.  Simply put, they were not willing to compromise any further on the critical issue of slavery.   The GOP slogan in the election of 1856 was "Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Speech, Free Men, and Fremont." 

The Dred Scott decision in 1857, which effectively destroyed the entire idea of slave-free states, is what galvanized anti-slavery elements in the north around the Republican Party.   The Constitutionalist Union party was the "let's compromise on slavery to keep the union together party", and its very existence proved that Republican party was not willing to compromise.  But of course, Trump doesn't really read, so he wouldn't know any of that. 

Come to think of it, it's all starting to make sense. The "let's compromise" Constitutional Union party was made up of a few ex-Whigs, but largely members of the "Know-Nothing" party.

Now there's a name that would describe Trump perfectly.

[LMAO]

Trump apparently is ignorant of the main reason the Republican Party came into existence in the first place, which was opposition by Northern members of the Whig party to the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the abandonment of the Missouri Compromise.  Simply put, they were not willing to compromise any further on the critical issue of slavery.   The GOP slogan in the election of 1856 was "Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Speech, Free Men, and Fremont." 

The Dred Scott decision in 1857, which effectively destroyed the entire idea of slave-free states, is what galvanized anti-slavery elements in the north around the Republican Party.   The Constitutionalist Union party was the "let's compromise on slavery to keep the union together party", and its very existence proved that Republican party was not willing to compromise.  But of course, Trump doesn't really read, so he wouldn't know any of that. 

Come to think of it, it's all starting to make sense. The "let's compromise" Constitutional Union party was made up of a few ex-Whigs, but largely members of the "Know-Nothing" party.

Now there's a name that would describe Trump perfectly.

It’s a tossup of whether Trump is ignorant, or he’s playing on the ignorance of his supporters

I suspect it’s a little of both

[Timber Rattler]

Simply put, they were not willing to compromise any further on the critical issue of slavery.   

Exactly, after Dred Scott, the publication Hinton Rowan Helper's incendiary The Impending Crisis of the South, John Brown's Raid, and the deadlock over electing a new House Speaker in December 1858-February 1860, there were no more compromises to be made.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Impending_Crisis_of_the_South

[Maj. Bill Martin]

It’s a tossup of whether Trump is ignorant, or he’s playing on the ignorance of his supporters

I suspect it’s a little of both

It is both, but it is far more excusable in ordinary people than it is in someone who wishes to lead an entire nation. The entire basis of representative government is that we elect representatives who are supposed to know more about critical issues than we do. So even if we are not able to follow each issue, we count on the judgment of the people we elect to have more knowledge, and consequently make better decisions.

The one fact about Trump that I've always found incredibly disturbing is that he does not like to read.  That is a massive red flag as far as I'm concerned.  The great leaders this country has had have always been avid readers. It's what gave them the depth of thought and philosophical commitment to guide this nation.

Trump is lacking completely in that regard.

[libertybele]

What exactly is this supposed to even mean?? It makes him sound like he's somewhere out in left field. Or, am I missing something??

“It was, I don’t know, it was just different,” Trump said of the war. “I just find it – I’m so attracted to seeing it.”

[LMAO]

Trump should be ask what he believes Lincoln should have offered the seceding states to reverse their decision.

His answer would’ve been interesting

But it seems like there’s a lot of Civil War questions for a war that was fought well over 150 years ago

I mean, it’s not like there’s problems today in the year 2024

[Bigun]

Speaking of CW history, here is a neat searchable web based database of Confederate Veteran Magazine.  It was published 1893-1932, and has many fascinating articles of 1st hand accounts of the war.  I have one great great grand uncle in the 45th GA, that wrote at least 6 articles of his experiences.  Fascinating stuff.

https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=confedvet

Thanks @catfish1957 I had not seen this previously. It promises to provide many great reads.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

His answer would’ve been interesting.

He'd just have avoided any specifics and mouthed something about him being a great negotiator.   And then his followers would cheer and say yes, he could have avoided it.  As if every else back then, including Lincoln, was just too dumb to see it.

[Hoodat]

Trump couldn't negotiate getting a wall built with money he was in control of.