Letter: Trump shows vast ignorance of history, culture

I am puzzled by the headline “Trump makes puzzling claim about Civil War.” Surely a better headline would have been, “Trump again says a series of very dumb things.” Or, “Again, Trump makes up fictional history.” Or, “Again, Trump shows his vast ignorance of the history and culture he lives in.”

But, hey, this must be fake news, perpetrated on us by the enemy of the people, i.e. the press. Surely he did not suggest that the Civil War could have been avoided by “working it out.” Surely he did not suggest that the slaveholding landowners of the South, whose whole economy and way of life was based on enslaving and abusing a whole race of people, could have just been talked out of their position.

The Electoral College, surely, would have not elected a president who would believe such a ridiculous thing, and then keep talking about it!

This story was originally published June 21, 2017 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Letter: Trump shows vast ignorance of history, culture."