President Trump's Civil War History

FacebookXPinterestEmailEmailEmailShare

Let's face it: Most Americans dozed through their high school American history classes, so many of us could use a refresher on the details. President Donald Trump stepped up at an Ohio campaign rally last October and shared his thoughts on the nation's most brutal conflict.

After giving some political background on President Abraham Lincoln's political rise to the White House and revealing what he sees as the somewhat surprising news that Abe was a Republican, Trump details his predecessor's Civil War "phobia" about Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee because Lincoln "couldn't beat Robert E. Lee."

"He had all of these generals. They looked great. They were the top of their class at West Point. They were the greatest people," Trump said. "There was only one problem: They didn't know how the hell to win."

He then praises Lincoln's leadership for elevating the "alcoholic" Ulysses S. Grant over the objections of his advisers, after which Grant led the Union to victory. The president's history lesson praises both Grant and Lee as "great" generals, so it is designed to appeal to everyone, no matter who they supported back in 1861.

Derek Waters of "Drunk History" adopted his show's format and the president's speech to present a special episode of "Trump History" on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" this week. If you're not a fan, the show has guests drink a lot and then explain historical events. Waters hires actors to silently re-enact the story as told by the drunk historian.

Waters himself plays Lincoln in this episode. As we all know, Trump has famously announced that he's never had a drink in his life, but his colorful storytelling style adapts surprisingly well to the format. Check out the episode below.

Story Continues