Trump and beautiful battle of Gettysburg

Trump raises fresh concerns after attempt to explain Gettysburg goes badly wrong
Story by Liam O'Dell
04/15/24

They're not wrong. They're not wrong.

Donald Trump, who back in February sparked international condemnation for comments about Nato, has once again caused concern over remarks made at one of his rallies - this time getting himself confused about the Battle of Gettysburg from 1863.

Considered a turning point in the American Civil War, the battle concerned Confederate soldier Robert Lee launching a second invasion of the North, only to be defeated by George Meade’s Army of the Potomac in a conflict which resulted in more than 50,000 casualties.

Except when Trump tried to explain the historical event during a rally in Pennsylvania at the weekend, it went about as well as you’d expect.

“Gettysburg, what an unbelievable battle that was. The Battle of Gettysburg, what an unbelievable… I mean it was so much, and so interesting and so vicious and horrible and so beautiful in so many different ways.
“It represented such a big portion of the success of this country … Gettysburg, wow,” the former president rambled.

And Trump’s comments on the massive loss of life has been met with shock by social media users – including actual historians – with many comparing it to fumbling your way through a school exam question:

It’s also been noted that one Trump supporter can be spotted making a range of bizarre faces throughout, including making binoculars with his hands, derping and scrunching his face up as if impersonating Trump himself.

Trump’s explanation of Gettysburg is the latest unusual comment from one of his rallies to make headlines, after he told a crowd in South Carolina he would be willing to violate the North Atlantic Treaty (overseen by Nato) and let Russia “do whatever the hell they want” to a member country if they “don’t pay” their bills.


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Donald Trump's Gettysburg Remarks Trashed by Civil War Historian—'Unhinged'
Story by Kate Plummer

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event on April 02, 2024 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The former president spoke about the 19th century battle during a campaign rally.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event on April 02, 2024 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The former president spoke about the 19th century battle during a campaign rally.
© Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A Civil War historian has called the remarks Donald Trump made about Gettysburg during a campaign rally "unhinged."

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, T.J. Stiles said the former president's take on the Battle of Gettysburg, which was fought between July 1 and 3, 1863 and killed an estimated 51,000 people, was "inarticulate" and "reductive."

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"Gettysburg, what an unbelievable battle that was," Trump said during a Saturday rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, in what was his first campaign event in the battleground state. "It was so much, and so interesting, and so vicious and horrible, and so beautiful in so many different ways—it represented such a big portion of the success of this country," he continued.
"Gettysburg, wow—I go to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to look and to watch," he said. "And the statement of Robert E. Lee, who's no longer in favor—did you ever notice it? He's no longer in favor. 'Never fight uphill, me boys, never fight uphill.' They were fighting uphill, he said, 'Wow, that was a big mistake,' he lost his great general. 'Never fight uphill, me boys,' but it was too late," Trump added.

Stiles said Trump brought up Pennsylvania to "flatter" the audience and that his views were "inarticulate, reductive."

He added that Trump's analysis of Lee, a general in the battle, was wrong as Lee was not known "to have issued downslope-only orders" and that his depiction of what happened was "rambling, unhinged."


Newsweek contacted a representative for Trump by email to comment on this story.

Stiles is not the only figure who has commented on Trump's speech. Author Stephen King, who is also an outspoken Trump critic, wrote a viral tweet calling the Republican "a dimbulb."

"Trump: 'Gettysburg! Wow!' What a dimbulb," he wrote.


Trump has mentioned the Civil War in previous events. Talking at a rally in Iowa in January, the former president said that the war "could have been negotiated" and thus avoided. On that occasion, Trump didn't suggest how he would have avoided the conflict, but said that he found it "so horrible, but so fascinating."

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Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes, the most of any swing state in the country. Trump won the swing state in 2016 by fewer than 45,000 votes over Hillary Clinton, but lost it to Biden in 2020, who won by about 80,000 votes.

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