--- title: Donald Trump: Most People Don't Know Lincoln Was Republican description: President Trump believes that Americans don't know that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican canonical: https://time.com/4708749/donald-trump-abraham-lincoln-republican/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-22T00:55:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:31.170Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Thinks America Doesn't Know Abraham Lincoln Was a Republican og:description: Though the GOP are often called "The Party of Lincoln" og:url: https://time.com/4708749/donald-trump-abraham-lincoln-republican/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0377fcdc121d1025/6988bf51bc6cfc48943e096a/donald-trump-lincoln.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Donald Trump Campaigns In Golden, Colorado og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Thinks America Doesn't Know Abraham Lincoln Was a Republican twitter:description: Though the GOP are often called "The Party of Lincoln" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0377fcdc121d1025/6988bf51bc6cfc48943e096a/donald-trump-lincoln.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Thinks America Doesn't Know Abraham Lincoln Was a Republican > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=276beb0c-95f0-4ee7-9e33-4efced43f7bd&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Praised Both Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay. They Hated Each Other [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Praised Both Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay. They Hated Each Other](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fRFqJO3l.m3u8) (2:43)  _Published 2017-03-21. At a rally in Louisville on Monday, President Donald Trump sang the praises of "the great 19th century statesman" Henry Clay, the former Speaker of the House, U.S. Senator and Whig Party co-founder._ by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Mar 22, 2017 12:55 AM UTC  Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump addresses a campaign rally in the Rodeo Arena at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds October 29, 2016 in Golden, Colorado. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump addresses a campaign rally in the Rodeo Arena at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds October 29, 2016 in Golden, Colorado. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Mar 22, 2017 12:55 AM UTC [President Trump](http://time.com/4708727/neil-gorsuch-donald-trump-judge-attack-disheartening-demoralizing/) believes that most Americans don’t know that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican. “Great president. Most people don’t even know he was a Republican,” Trump said while addressing attendees at the National Republican Congressional Committee Dinner. “Does anyone know? Lot of people don’t know that.” > [](https://twitter.com/ClaudiaKoerner/status/844338560572416000) Trump then said Republicans need to spread the word that Lincoln was a Republican, appearing to be unaware of the fact that the GOP is commonly referred to as the “party of Lincoln.” “Let’s take an ad, let’s use one of those PACs,” he said. ## Transcript [ APPLAUSE ] And the great 19th Century American Statesman, Henry Clay represented Kentucky in the United States Congress. [ APPLAUSE ] Henry Clay believed in what he called the American [ UNKNOWN ] And proposed tariffs to protect American industry and finance American infrastructure. Like can we claim we want our own people to work. We believe in two simple rules. By American and hire American. [ APPLAUSE ] So, as you folks all know, Henry Clay was a legendary Kentucky politician who became the eighth speaker of the House in 1811. You know, they compared my campaign, to Jackson, president Jackson right. Of 1828, I said can you imagine having to go back that far, and they said this was even more severe But we did a good job. Didn't we do a great job together? [ APPLAUSE ] 1828 that's a long time ago. Boy and he was a good president right? He was a good president. Clay was a fierce advocate for American manufacturing. He wanted it badly. He said, very strongly, free trade, which would throw wide open our ports to foreign production without duties. While theirs remain closed to us. That was his quote. He knew all the way back. Early 1800s. Clay said that trade must be fair, equal and reciprocal. Boom. He said fair, equal, and reciprocal. I'm talking about reciprocal trade. [ APPLAUSE ] Reciprocal. In explaining his American system, Clay argued that the sole object of the tariff is to tax the produce. And remember, To tax the produce of foreign industry with the view of promoting American industry. 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