Before making a feast of Donald Trump falling asleep in court, The Daily Show host Jon Stewart turned his attention to the former president’s recent rally in Gettysburg. Trump makes frequent stops in the Central Pennsylvania area, and the famous Civil War battlefield is no exception. However, to the surprise of no one, Trump’s grasp of history is not… the best.
Stewart kicked things off by playing a clip of Trump describing the climactic battle where the Union scored a decisive victory against the Confederate Army and finally brought an end to the Civil War.
“Gettysburg, what an unbelievable battle that was,” Trump said. “The Battle of Gettysburg. What an– I mean, it was so much and so interesting and so vicious and horrible and so beautiful in so many different ways. It represented such a big portion of the success of this country. Gettysburg, wow.”
As the audience laughed at the ridiculousness of Trump’s statements, Stewart (around the 5:50 mark above) went in hard.
“That is plagiarized almost directly from my seventh grade book report – ‘Gettysburg. Wow,’” Stewart joked. “‘It was vicious and horrible and beautiful.’ Is he talking about a Civil War battle or a horse giving birth?”
Trump’s stump speech got even weirder as he attempted to quote Robert E. Lee after expressing concern that the Confederate general is “no longer in favor.”
Via Mediaite:
Trump then alleged Lee once told his soldiers, “Never fight uphill, me boys. Never fight uphill.”
“It is true,” Stewart said as the audience laughed. “The North did have the higher ground, but I’m pretty sure that Robert E. Lee was not a leprechaun. ‘Ah, never fight uphill, me boys! That’s not how to take back the North’s pot o’ gold. Ya can’t be fighting uphill, me boys.’”
As if the Irish Robert E. Lee wasn’t nonsensical enough, Stewart couldn’t help but point out a significant flaw in Trump’s history lesson.
“Also minor point,” Stewart quipped. “I’m pretty sure Robert E. Lee would not have told them, ‘Never fight uphill,’ since he’s the one who told them to f****** fight uphill!”
(Via Mediaite)