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| Trump defends ‘beautiful’ Civil War statues | Trump defends ‘beautiful’ Civil War statues |
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| US President Donald Trump has denounced the removal of "beautiful" Confederate statues amid a heated national debate about US race relations. | US President Donald Trump has denounced the removal of "beautiful" Confederate statues amid a heated national debate about US race relations. |
| "Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments," he tweeted. | "Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments," he tweeted. |
| "You can't change history, but you can learn from it," he continued. | "You can't change history, but you can learn from it," he continued. |
| Mr Trump drew outrage by defending organisers of a white supremacist rally that left a woman dead and dozens hurt. | |
| The rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, supported by neo-Nazis and white supremacists, was in protest of the removal of a statue of Robert E Lee, a general who had fought for the pro-slavery Confederacy during the US Civil War. | |
| It turned deadly when a driver ploughed into a crowd of counter protesters, inflicting fatal injuries on Heather Heyer. | |
| "Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson - who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!" Mr Trump continued in a series of tweets on Thursday. | |
| "The beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!" | "The beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!" |
| The recent removal of Civil War-era statues, including some to leaders of the pro-slavery rebellion defeated in the US Civil War, has been the latest flashpoint in racial tensions across the country. | |
| Critics say monuments to the Confederacy are racially offensive, but supporters say they are important symbols preserving Southern heritage. | |
| The president's comments came after a week of turmoil over his response to the violent clashes in the small Virginia town. | |
| Mr Trump was criticised for blaming both sides for the violence, but belatedly condemned the white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups on Monday. | |
| But during a heated news conference on Tuesday he backtracked and again blamed left-wing counter-protesters for the incident, too. | |
| Amid the fallout over the president's response, corporate leaders and CEOs began resigning from two White House business councils. | |
| On Wednesday, the Strategy and Policy Forum announced it would disband as Mr Trump said he would end the council as well as a manufacturing one. |