Al Sharpton: ‘How Would a WWII Veteran Feel About Paying Taxes to Have a Statue of Mussolini or Hitler?’

MSNBC’s Al Sharpton posed an interesting question as he responded to the country’s ongoing debate about which American historical figures deserve to have public statues in their honor.

Sharpton was on Morning Joe on Thursday, where part of the conversation gravitated around President Donald Trump’s opposition to racial justice protesters following the death of George Floyd. Scarborough also noted that Trump “is trying to make a wedge issue out of protecting statues and monuments,” especially when it comes to memorials of Confederate figures that have come under protest.

“One of the things that is not mentioned enough is that these statues are in public places that are maintained by people employed by taxpayer dollars,” Sharpton remarked. “So [Trump] is, in effect, asking Black Americans, Brown Americans, and all Americans, to pay to help extol people that literally fought to keep their forefathers enslaved.”

Sharpton further explained that African Americans “have no choice” when the taxes they pay end up going to the public maintenance of Confederate statues. “That’s an insult to all of us,” he continued, saying Trump might be right that it’s part of America’s history, but not not a part that ought to be exalted.

“We should have the statues of those that fought and defeated them, not the ones who were defeated,” Sharpton said. “How would a World War II veteran feel about paying taxes to have a statue of Mussolini or Hitler in their public square? That’s how many of us in Black America feel.”

Watch above, via MSNBC.