Trump Claims Lincoln Could Have Avoided The Civil War Through Negotiation

At a rally in Iowa on Saturday, defeated former President Donald Trump claimed that Abraham Lincoln could have avoided the Civil War through negotiation:

So many mistakes were made. See, there was something I think could have been negotiated, to be honest with you. I think you could’ve negotiated that. All the people died, so many people died.

Abraham Lincoln, of course if he negotiated it, you probably wouldn’t even know who Abraham Lincoln was. He would have been president, but he would have been president, and he wouldn’t have been the Abraham Lincoln. Would’ve been different, but that would’ve been OK.

I know it very well. I know the whole process that they went through, and they just couldn’t get along, and that would’ve been something that could have been negotiated and they wouldn’t have had that problem.

To which Liz Cheney replied, “Which part of the Civil War ‘could have been negotiated’? The slavery part? The secession part? Whether Lincoln should have preserved the Union?” 

Mind you, Trump is the last person who wants to prevent another Civil War. In fact, Trump has done more to foment a Second Civil War since Jefferson Davis be it by not accepting the results of an election, attempting to prevent the peaceful transfer of power, calling for the execution of military officials, claiming migrants poison the blood of our country and bringing Christmas tidings by wishing those with whom he disagrees to rot in hell. For bad measure, Trump just refused to sign a loyalty oath not to overthrow the government in Lincoln's native Illinois. It is exactly what you would expect of someone who wants to be a dictator even for a day. 

As such, it is very hard to take Trump seriously when he laments those who died during the Civil War when more than 400,000 Americans died under his watch in less than a year as he dithered during the COVID pandemic. 

Of course, what he said about the Civil War won't matter to his supporters any more than any of the other things just mentioned. A week from today, Trump will win the Iowa Caucus perhaps by as much as 50 points. A week from today, most people will have forgotten that Trump said anything about the Civil War while Nikki Haley will still struggle to explain herself as to why she wouldn't mention slavery as a cause for the Civil War.

The question remains if it will matter to enough Americans to deny Trump a second term for a second consecutive election.