Former president Jimmy Carter is conflicted about Conderate statues because he had family fight for The South, according to an exclusive interview.
The 93-year-old spoke candidly with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd about Trump, North Korea, NFL Protest, the Democratic Primaries and more but struggled the most when talking about the legacy of the slave-owning Confederacy.
‘That’s a hard one for me. My great-grandfather was at Gettysburg on the Southern side and his two brothers were with him in the Sumter artillery,’ he said to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
The 93-year-old spoke candidly with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd about Trump, North Korea, NFL Protest, the Democratic Primaries and more
‘One of them was wounded but none of them were killed. I never have looked on the carvings on Stone Mountain or the statues as being racist in their intent.
‘But I can understand African-Americans’ aversion to them, and I sympathize with them. But I don’t have any objection to them being labeled with explanatory labels or that sort of thing.’
The dismantling of the monuments increased after a rally by white nationalists protesting against plans to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee sparked clashes with anti-racism demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia in August.
‘That’s a hard one for me. My great-grandfather was at Gettysburg on the Southern side and his two brothers were with him in the Sumter artillery,’ he said about Confederate statue removal
He added: ‘But I can understand African-Americans’ aversion to them, and I sympathize with them. But I don’t have any objection to them being labeled with explanatory labels or that sort of thing’
The rally turned deadly when a car rammed into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a 32-year-old woman and injuring 19 other people.
Charlottesville’s violence appears to have accelerated the drive to remove memorials, flags and other reminders of the Confederate cause across the United States.
‘I think they ought to find a different way to object, to demonstrate,’ said Carter about his stance on the NFL protest against police brutality started by Colin Kaepernick last season
Along with comments on the statue, Carter also had comments on the NFL protest against police brutality started by Colin Kaepernick, which he was a lot more solid in his opinion.
‘I think they ought to find a different way to object, to demonstrate,’ he said.
‘I would rather see all the players stand during the American anthem.’
The 39th President of the United States was gentle in his comments on Trump.
The 39th President also had issue with the media’s critique of Donald Trump and doesn’t blame him entirely for the direction of the country
When asked if he believed Trump was widening racial tension, Carter added: ‘Yes, I think he is exacerbating it, but maybe not deliberately.’
Carter did not mince words with his critique of the media and their relationship with the President.
‘I think the media have been harder on Trump than any other president certainly that I’ve known about,’ said Carter.
‘I think they feel free to claim that Trump is mentally deranged and everything else without hesitation.’
And perhaps most interesting, the former leader of the United States doesn’t solely blame Trump for the direction of the country but feels the U.S. is to blame as well.
He added: ‘Well, he might be escalating it but I think that precedes Trump. The United States has been the dominant character in the whole world and now we’re not anymore.
‘And we’re not going to be. Russia’s coming back and India and China are coming forward.’