Trump senses an opening. He’s going after protesters who are attacking Confederate statues, claiming that the protesters have no respect for American history, and are seeking to impose their PC values on the rest of us. Is he right, and does this make political sense?
Trump is an unlikely supporter of the Confederacy. He obviously didn’t grow up there, and has no natural appreciation of its culture or values. He hates losers; they lost. He rejects the whole notion of the exceptionalism of American institutions and values; to him, only power matters. Finally, the swing states are predominantly in what was the Union (Florida, with its unusual demographics, doesn’t count). How is running as the leader of the party of Jefferson Davis going to get him votes in Pennsylvania or Michigan?
He’s on more solid ground when he talks about Andrew Jackson, Columbus, or Theodore Roosevelt. These men may not have been saints, but they weren’t traitors, and their impact on America is undeniable. Who is to say that today’s PC crusaders won’t be viewed as bigots 200 years from now? Jackson, et. al., should stay in place.