Trump fans the flames with Confederate defense
By Jordan Fabian - 08/17/17 05:17 PM EDT http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/347022-trump-fans-the-flames-with-confederate-defense<..snip..>
In doubling down, Trump appeared to embrace the thinking of his chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, who suggested in an interview this week that the president would “crush the Democrats” as long as “they stay focused on race and identity, and we go with economic nationalism.”
Polls suggest that shifting the focus onto the debate over Confederate landmarks — and away from the violence in Charlottesville — could play to the president’s base.
Republican voters overwhelmingly support preserving memorials to the Confederacy, with 86 percent in an NPR/PBS News Hour/Marist poll this week saying Confederate statues should “remain as a historical symbol.” Overall, six in 10 votes said the same.
Yet Trump continued to take fire Thursday from Republicans for his comments about the violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.
The White House saw the focus shift away from Trump's comments on Thursday afternoon after a car drove into a crowd in Barcelona, Spain, in a terrorist attack that killed at least 12 and injured dozens more. Cable news channels, which had covered Charlottesville nonstop since a rally Friday evening, quickly shifted their coverage to Spain.
But the debate over whether to keep Confederate monuments seems poised to continue — especially if the president decides to keep pressing the issue.
Two days ago, the president said the decision to tear down a statue should be "up to a local town, community or the federal government, depending on where it is located."
Statements like that could help bolster Trump’s standing with his core supporters.
“President Trump, by asking, ‘Where does this all end’ — Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln — connects with the American people about their history, culture and traditions,” Bannon said in an interview with The New York Times.
“The race-identity politics of the left wants to say it’s all racist. Just give me more. Tear down more statues. Say the revolution is coming. I can’t get enough of it,” he added.
But while Trump is now focused on historical monuments, Republican lawmakers aren’t ready to move past his controversial remarks about Charlottesville. Some say the president is heading down a dangerous path and want him to change course.
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http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/347022-trump-fans-the-flames-with-confederate-defense
