Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voiced his opposition to the removal of Confederate monuments, including the Robert E. Lee statue that was toppled and melted down in Charlottesville, Virginia, adding that “erasing history is not good or healthy for any culture.”
Kennedy appeared on the “Timcast IRL” podcast on Friday, where host Tim Poole, an independent journalist, asked the independent presidential candidate about activists tearing down Civil War statues and statues of former slaves, such as Frederick Douglass, who opposed slavery.
The host specifically asked whether he would condemn the people who melted the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, which was removed from Charlottesville in 2021.
“I don’t think it’s good or healthy for any culture to erase history,” Kennedy said. “I’m instinctively opposed to attacks on these statues.”
Robert E. Lee statue melted down in secret “symbolic” ceremony, then transformed into “inclusive” public art
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at a campaign rally at the Legends Events Center in Phoenix, Arizona. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
He grew up in Virginia and said there were Confederate heroes who didn’t own slaves.
“I have an instinctive resistance to destroying history. I don’t like it. I believe we should celebrate who we are,” Kennedy said. “We should celebrate the good nature of all people. If you want to find people who were completely honorable on every issue in history, you’re erasing all of history.”
Part of the discussion revolved around Columbus Day, which Kennedy calls Indigenous Peoples Day.
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A tow truck removes a toppled statue of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus from outside the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, on June 10, 2020. (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Kennedy told Poole he thinks it’s important to recognize all kinds of people, whether they’re Italian-American or Native American, who celebrate Columbus Day.
“You know, we can acknowledge the Native Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice in one of the greatest genocides in history,” Kennedy said. “My father always believed that our country could never live up to its ideals unless we made some kind of reparation to the groups that were wiped out in order for us to settle this country, and I think that’s a good aspiration for all Americans.”
Kennedy did not immediately respond to a request from Fox News Digital seeking further comment on the matter.
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Workers remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia, on July 10, 2021, after a years-long legal battle over the controversial monument. (Reuters/Evelyn Hochstein)
A statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee that once stood in Charlottesville was secretly melted down in an incident. A ceremonial event.
After going through both cultural and legal battles, the Lee statue, which sparked the infamous Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally, was reportedly melted down in a ceremony held in secret to ensure the safety of those involved. The Washington Post reported that the statue met its end “in a 2,250-degree furnace” and was “secretly melted down” to become a new public artwork.
Footage of Lee’s portrait being melted went viral on social media.
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The “Unite the Right” rally was held in Charlottesville in August 2017, and participants included far-right white supremacists outraged by the proposed removal of the Lee statue, as well as many counter-protesters.
On August 12, James Fields Jr. intentionally drove his car into a group of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer and injuring dozens.
Fox News Digital’s Alexander Hall contributed to this report.
