White House Chief of Staff John Kelly calls general Robert E. Lee, of the pro-slavery Confederate Army, an “honorable man” in a Civil War provoked by an inability to compromise.
He made the comments Monday evening on the Fox News television channel as the United States faces a growing movement to take down statues and other monuments to generals and leaders of the 1861-1865 Confederacy.
Many Americans consider such monuments to be commemorations of a racist past.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly appears at event where US President Donald Trump was to bestow the Medal of Honor to retired Army medic James McCloughan during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on July 31, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
“I would tell you that Robert E. Lee was an honorable man,” Kelly said when asked about the nationwide debate over Confederate monuments. “He was a man that gave up his country to fight for his state, which 150 years ago was more important than country.”
“Now it’s different today. But the lack of an ability to compromise led to the Civil War, and men and women of good faith on both sides made their stand where their conscience had them make their stand,” he added.
— AFP
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