A campaign sign for the President of the United States, Donald Trump, stands between two Confederate flags, one with the words “I will not go down” in the backyard of a house in Sandston, Virginia, USA, 4 July 2020. REUTERS / Kevin Lamarque
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – United States President Donald Trump declined to say that the Confederate flag was an offensive symbol in an interview broadcast Sunday, saying it is a source of pride for people who love the South.
The Republican president was asked on “Fox News Sunday” if the flag, considered a symbol of slavery and oppression by most Americans, was offensive.
“It depends on who you are talking to, when you are talking,” Trump replied. “When people proudly held their Confederate flags, they did not speak of racism. They love their flag, it represents the south. They like the South … I say it is the freedom of many things, but it is the freedom of expression. ”
In the past, Trump has sympathized with the flag and symbols of the Confederation of the American Civil War of 1861-65. In 2017, he denounced the removal of monuments to the Confederacy, blaming “both sides” in Charlottesville, Virginia, after protests against the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general.
Earlier this month, he criticized NASCAR’s ban on the Confederate flag from its events.
Trump has promised a veto, breaking with several of his fellow Republicans in Congress, of the annual National Defense Authorization Act on an amendment to remove the names of Confederate generals from military bases within a year.
“We won the World War with these, with these military bases, no, I will not change. I will not change. Trump said in the interview, that it was recorded on Friday.
Reports by Doina Chiacu and Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Nick Zieminski
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