Trump calls removal of Confederate monuments 'so foolish'

US President Donald Trump on Thursday denounced the removal of monuments dedicated to Confederate leaders as "sad" and "so foolish", days after white supremacists and neo-Nazis took to Charlottesville, Virginia, to protest the planned removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

"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," Trump said in another tweet.

The US President's tweets came as he continued to face criticism for comments he made on Tuesday in which he blamed "both sides" of the Charlottesville protests -- the white supremacists and those protesting against them -- for the violence in which one woman was killed and dozens were injured, CNN reported.

While Trump condemned the neo-Nazi and white supremacists who protested, he insisted that there were "very fine people" among those protesting the removal of Lee's statue in Charlottesville.

Echoing his comments on Tuesday, Trump tweeted on Thursday that the removal of Confederate statues could lead to the removal of monuments to the US's founding fathers.

"Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson -- who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!" Trump tweeted. "Also the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!"

Critics said monuments to the Confederacy were racially offensive, but supporters said they were important symbols preserving Southern heritage.

--IANS

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