--- title: Robert E. Lee Descendent Attacks Trump's Comments description: Trump called General Lee "a true great fighter and a great general" at a rally in Ohio on Friday. canonical: https://time.com/5424272/general-lee-descendent-trump-confederate/ author: Alejandro de la Garza article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-10-14T17:02:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T21:44:24.792Z article:section: Politics og:title: Robert E. Lee Descendent Attacks President Trump's Comments on Confederate General og:description: "Robert E. Lee fought for the continued enslavement of black bodies" og:url: https://time.com/5424272/general-lee-descendent-trump-confederate/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26ccd150e7a9933f/69893c9486f68e826e6ea6a8/screen-shot-2018-10-14-at-12-57-23-pm.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Screen Shot 2018-10-14 at 12.57.23 PM og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Robert E. Lee Descendent Attacks President Trump's Comments on Confederate General twitter:description: "Robert E. Lee fought for the continued enslavement of black bodies" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26ccd150e7a9933f/69893c9486f68e826e6ea6a8/screen-shot-2018-10-14-at-12-57-23-pm.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Robert E. Lee Descendent Attacks President Trump's Comments on Confederate General  by [Alejandro de la Garza](https://time.com/author/alejandro-de-la-garza/)  ## Alejandro de la Garza Oct 14, 2018 5:02 PM UTC  Rev. Robert Lee IV  by [Alejandro de la Garza](https://time.com/author/alejandro-de-la-garza/)  ## Alejandro de la Garza Oct 14, 2018 5:02 PM UTC A descendent of Confederate General Robert E. Lee said that President Donald Trump’s comments about his ancestor were “far from the truth” in [a video Saturday](https://twitter.com/roblee4/status/1051085272375549952?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw). Rev. Robert Lee IV, who is the great-great-great-great-nephew of General Lee, tweeted out the message after Trump held a rally in Ohio Friday where, in complimenting the state as the birthplace to General Ulysses S. Grant, he said the Confederate general was “a true great fighter and a great general.” Lee’s video came in response to NBC news and other media outlets sharing [a video of Trump’s quote](https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1050901081537073155), which the President called out for being irresponsibly reported. “Robert E. Lee fought for the continued enslavement of black bodies,” Lee said in his Twitter video. “It was for states’ rights yes, but for states’ rights to own slaves.” > [](https://twitter.com/roblee4/status/1051085272375549952) “He is showing us he supports an idol of white supremacy and of hatred,” Lee said of Trump. The video gained popularity over the weekend and had accumulated over 7,000 retweets and almost 20,000 likes at the time of this writing. Lee had previously criticized his ancestor when he spoke at the [2017 MTV Video Music Awards](http://time.com/4917930/mtv-vmas-2017-political-moments/) following the violent clashes in Charlottesville, calling him an “idol of white supremacy, racism and hate.” President Trump said in a tweet Sunday that his comments Friday had been intentionally misinterpreted, and that his words were actually a “shoutout to warrior Grant.” > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1051471737068670977) President Trump has previously opposed the removal of[ public statues](http://time.com/4903671/charlottesville-robert-lee-confederate-monuments-history/) honoring Confederate figures including General Lee. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/898169407213645824) > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/898171544236687361) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5424272/general-lee-descendent-trump-confederate/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5424272/general-lee-descendent-trump-confederate/"},"headline":"Robert E. 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