An Arizona state senator-elect who successfully campaigned as an “America First pro-Trump Republican” sparked backlash after saying confederate general Robert E. Lee “loved” his country more than several Democratic congresswomen of color nicknamed “The Squad.”
Recently elected GOP state senator-elect Wendy Rogers was responding to the removal of Lee’s statue from the U.S. Capitol, where it had stood in the so-called Crypt since 1909. The move followed calls from Virginia’s Democratic governor, who asked that the U.S. Capitol remove the confederate statue from government property.
But this prompted several GOP lawmakers, including Rogers, to condemn it in comparison to modern Democrats. Despite Lee having committed treason by joining the confederate forces against the United States during the Civil War, Rogers claimed the late general loved the U.S. more than “squad” members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.
“Robert E Lee loved our country more than Antifa, Soros, China, @aoc, @IlhanMN, and @RashidaTlaib,” Rogers tweeted Monday, prompting critics to remind the GOP lawmaker that Lee was a “traitor” for commanding the rebel forces against President Abraham Lincoln and the Union (U.S.) Army.
Continue Reading: https://www.newsweek.com/gop-state-senator-elect-blasted-saying-robert-e-lee-loved-us-more-squad-1556729