In a move that surprised his Fox & Friends co-hosts on Thursday (June 4), Brian Kilmeade argued against the return of Confederate monuments, stating that he isn’t on board with restoring a statue to Robert E. Lee.
The debate came as Fox News reporter Carley Shimkus noted how some local governments are being challenged to reverse course on a 2020 decision to remove monuments to controversial historical figures. This included Italian American groups and community members joining a federal lawsuit to restore a Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus, Ohio.
Shimkus went on to reveal that a monument to Lee was put back on display in Charleston, South Carolina, after being removed from a school campus in 2021.
Kilmeade pointed out that the debate over problematic monuments “broke the fever of George Floyd,” before airing his opinion on the matter, specifically when it came to the Lee statue.
“I’m not necessarily into seeing Robert E. Lee’s statue come back. He made a choice, and it was the wrong choice. If you read his biography, in his own words, he didn’t want a statue,” he said, pointing out how Lincoln asked Lee to run the Union Army, but “he chose the South.”
“I don’t think he should get a statue,” Kilmeade continued. “I’m not going to judge him, but I think that’s a different category than when you take Teddy Roosevelt out of the Museum of Natural History, or you take Lincoln’s name off a school.”
Co-host Lawrence Jones argued that the statues are not the issue, “It is getting the history right. So, our Confederate statues in Texas, we have a plaque under it to explain what actually happened in the Civil War. That’s what the young people need to know about. The statues are fine. Just don’t think that he’s a hero, because he’s not a hero.”
Ainsley Earhardt told Kilmeade, “I’m surprised to hear you say that, because you always say, let’s not erase history.”
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t want to give a tribute to them,” Kilmeade responded. “I’m not saying forget what Robert E. Lee did well, but to have his statue back up as if it’s a tribute to him? He made a choice, and it was the wrong choice.”
You can watch the segment here.
Fox & Friends, Weekdays, 6am/5c, Fox News
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