The U.S President, Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News on Sunday July 19, 2020, said the Confederate flag was not an offensive symbol but a source of pride for the people who love the South.
The President said this while responding to a question about whether the Confederacy flag is a symbol of slavery and oppression.
He said it would depend on who and when one is talking about.
“It depends on who you’re talking about, when you’re talking about,” said Mr. Trump.
“When people proudly had their Confederate flags they’re not talking about racism. They love their flag, it represents the South. They like the South … I say it’s freedom of many things, but it’s freedom of speech,” he added.
President Trump has in the recent past appeared to be fond of the Confederate flag and symbols as a representation of American Civil War in 1861 to 1865.
Attempt to remove Confederate monument in 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia, was met with objections and criticism from the president following protest that demands removal of a Confederate general Robert E. Lee’s statue.
Similarly, NASCAR’s move to get rid of any symbol of racism and oppression by banning Confederate flag from its events was criticized by the President at the start of July.
Also last week Friday, Mr, Trump in an interview criticized the move by the National Defense Authorization Act that proposes an amendment that seeks removal of Confederate generals from military bases.
In his criticism of the move, the President said, “We won World Wars out of these, out of these military bases, no I’m not gonna go changing. I’m not gonna go changing.”
