Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Trump Gets Schooled After He Rants About Thomas Jefferson in Blatantly False Statement

Trump Gets Schooled After He Rants About Thomas Jefferson in Blatantly False Statement
Isaac Brekken/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump was a massive proponent of education that taught students to unquestioningly adore the United States, even at the expense of accuracy and academic engagement.

Trump repeatedly disparaged histories like the 1619 Project and helped accelerate Republican hysteria and disinformation regarding Critical Race Theory. He established the 1776 Commission to promote so-called patriotic education.


Consistent with this message of unquestioning praise amounting to an adequate education, Trump has railed against the removal of statues lionizing confederate leaders and slave-owning revolutionaries.

Such was the case after New York's Public Design Commission voted to remove a statue of Thomas Jefferson from its display in City Hall. Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, is one of many historical figures whose legacy has been reevaluated over decades. Jefferson enslaved around 600 people in his lifetime. He repeatedly raped Sally Hemings, one of his slaves, beginning when he was in his 40s and Hemings was a young teenager.

With Jefferson's statue removed from City Hall, it's unclear where the final resting place of the statue will be. Some have proposed venues like the New York Historical Society that could accompany its display with information acknowledging the complexities of Jefferson's life and the atrocities he committed.

For his part, Trump issued a hamhanded statement decrying the removal as an assault on history—history of which he demonstrated his own ignorance in the statement itself.

Trump wrote:

"The late, great Thomas Jefferson, one of our most important founding Fathers and a principal writer of the constitution of the United States, is being 'evicted' from the magnificent New York City Council Chamber."

There's just one problem: Jefferson didn't have a role in writing the U.S. Constitution. Though he wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Jefferson was serving as a diplomat in France from 1784 to 1789, when the Constitution was being written and ratified in the United States until 1788.

Historians like Kevin M. Levin, as well as people with a basic grasp of U.S. history, were quick to point this out.



Has Trump not seen Hamilton?


People proceeded to mock Trump's argument.


Awkward.

More from People/donald-trump

Clary Aiken; Kelly Clarkson
@kellyclarksonshow/TikTok

Kelly Clarkson Hilariously Forgot Clay Aiken Didn't Win 'American Idol'—And His Face Says It All

American Idol buddies Clay Aiken and Kelly Clarkson reunited for an interview on her talk show to reminisce about their time on the reality competition TV show and going on tour together.

While fun moments were shared, fans couldn't help but crack up about Clarkson's faux pas when she and Aiken first sat down together to discuss his new Christmas album, Christmas Bells Are Ringing.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jennfier Lopez
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images

Jennifer Lopez Expertly Handles Interviewer's Rude Comment About Her Age In Viral Video

At 55, actor and music star Jennifer Lopez demonstrated she's unstoppable, which is coincidentally the title of her new biographical sports film.

When Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis joked about Lopez "getting up there" in age during a recent Q&A, her response was surprisingly positive.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chanel Stewart; Screenshot from "Win or Lose" trailer
@chanelstewart/Instagram; Walt Disney Studios

Trans Voice Actor Speaks Out After Disney Cuts Trans Storyline From New Pixar Animated Series

In an interview with Deadline, actor Chanel Stewart said she's "disheartened" by Disney's decision to edit out her trans character's storyline in Pixar's upcoming show Win or Lose.

The original animated series from Disney-owned Pixar follows a co-ed middle school softball team, the Pickles, as they approach their championship game. Each of the eight episodes, set to debut on Disney+ on February 19, will highlight a different member of the team.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nick Jonas; Elon Musk
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SiriusXM; Allison Robbert-Pool/Getty Images

Nick Jonas Sparks Fan Backlash After Cozying Up To Musk With Bizarre Tweet Exchange

Singer Nick Jonas sparked backlash from fans after cozying up to billionaire Elon Musk after the X owner used a GIF of the Jonas Brothers in a boastful tweet about Tesla's stock performance.

Tesla shares surged to an all-time high last week, surpassing their previous record set in 2021. The stock closed at $424.77, surpassing its former peak of $409.97 on November 4, 2021, by around $15. Tesla’s market value has increased by approximately 71% this year, with nearly all of those gains occurring since President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory early last month.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Elon Musk
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump Trolled With Two-Word Nickname For Elon Musk After Musk Blows Up Funding Deal

After billionaire ally Elon Musk helped tank bipartisan deal to fund the government, critics trolled President-elect Donald Trump by using the name "President Musk," suggesting that Trump isn't actually the one calling the shots as the nation's chief executive to be.

Yesterday, Musk played a key role in leading a revolt against a bipartisan funding bill, directly challenging House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican leaders who helped craft the legislation. The revolt plunged budget negotiations into disarray, increasing the likelihood of a government shutdown this weekend.

Keep ReadingShow less