> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # After Trump Calls Confederate Monuments “Beautiful,” Twitter Responds with Memes - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/after-trump-calls-confederate-monuments-beautiful-twitter-responds-with-memes/ - Published: 2017-08-17T19:16:17.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T16:12:03.000Z - Description: The responses to this drivel came swiftly on Twitter, with people pointing out all the beautiful works of public art that have popped up this year alone, including guerrilla sculptures of a nude Trump. - Author: Claire Voon - Tags: News, Confederate monuments, Donald Trump, Memes, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:30(2016, 2017, part 3) > “…the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!” [pic.twitter.com/9DKbTfw7vM](https://t.co/9DKbTfw7vM?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — Dave Brown (@dave\_brown24) [August 17, 2017](https://twitter.com/dave%5Fbrown24/status/898175880928821248?ref=hyperallergic.com) President Trump reiterated his [defense of Confederate memorials](http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/346671-trump-on-tearing-down-of-confederate-statues-is-it-george-washington?ref=hyperallergic.com) this morning in a trio of tweets that argued for their aesthetic value: “Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments,” he shared. “You can’t change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson — who’s next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish! Also, the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!” Yes, if it’s one thing the President needs to highlight about these monuments that commemorate racist individuals as heroes, it’s their beauty. Of course, we should trust a man with such unparalleled taste as his. Just look at his [former pad at Trump Tower](http://littleatoms.com/what-donald-trumps-plastic-versailles-tells-us-about-president-elect?ref=hyperallergic.com). And let’s not forget that to build that tower faster he made a very smart decision to[ smash two stone sculptures](https://twitter.com/DanAmira/status/898195640739659781?ref=hyperallergic.com) on the former Bonwit Teller Building. Yes, the President knows culture and beauty when he sees it, and he sure has some important concerns about “[the alt-left](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/us/politics/trump-press-conference-charlottesville.html?mcubz=3&ref=hyperallergic.com)” ruining the aesthetics of our public spaces. The responses to this drivel came swiftly on Twitter, as they do, with people pointing out all the beautiful works of public art that have popped up this year alone, from [guerrilla sculptures of a nude Trump](https://hyperallergic.com/street-artists-erect-nude-sculpture-of-donald-trump-in-new-yorks-union-square/) to a [bronze bust of Cristiano Ronaldo](https://hyperallergic.com/soccer-superstar-cristiano-ronaldos-new-bronze-bust-is-special/) (yes, this was in Madeira, but still, worth a laugh). Other notable, older ones you can still visit include a [particularly beautiful equestrian statue](http://gawker.com/alarming-statue-of-a-racist-and-horse-perfectly-honors-1713422930?ref=hyperallergic.com) of the wonderful racist Nathan Bedford Forrest in Nashville and the famous [roadside portrait of Jimmy Carter](http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10409?ref=hyperallergic.com) as a grinning peanut in Plains, Georgia. Very beautiful. > Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments [pic.twitter.com/YjpsGF9Mrn](https://t.co/YjpsGF9Mrn?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — Sacha Sayan (@sachasayan) [August 17, 2017](https://twitter.com/sachasayan/status/898214756313702401?ref=hyperallergic.com) > sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments [pic.twitter.com/9hYOHbZ1j0](https://t.co/9hYOHbZ1j0?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — Fred Delicious (@Fred\_Delicious) [August 17, 2017](https://twitter.com/Fred%5FDelicious/status/898207728375668736?ref=hyperallergic.com) > Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. [pic.twitter.com/PWb2Xfhxxa](https://t.co/PWb2Xfhxxa?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — David Mack (@davidmackau) [August 17, 2017](https://twitter.com/davidmackau/status/898178194347577344?ref=hyperallergic.com) > Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. [pic.twitter.com/a9GCr3vqcw](https://t.co/a9GCr3vqcw?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — DocHackenbush (@DocHackenbush) [August 17, 2017](https://twitter.com/DocHackenbush/status/898180859169300480?ref=hyperallergic.com) Others were quick to point out previous removals of statues to major Americans icons that were pretty great decisions — despite them being major cultural figures: > Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments [pic.twitter.com/LUXuD2x4Mt](https://t.co/LUXuD2x4Mt?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — summer goth (@NicCageMatch) [August 17, 2017](https://twitter.com/NicCageMatch/status/898191489414684672?ref=hyperallergic.com) > “Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments” [pic.twitter.com/LWLp1UaI1W](https://t.co/LWLp1UaI1W?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — Arj Singh (@singharj) [August 17, 2017](https://twitter.com/singharj/status/898179991564947456?ref=hyperallergic.com) And then, of course, there are the more creative responses: > Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments [pic.twitter.com/RokC3lEdG1](https://t.co/RokC3lEdG1?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — Thick Wife Emailer (@PraxisKenzie) [August 17, 2017](https://twitter.com/PraxisKenzie/status/898199301351976960?ref=hyperallergic.com) > the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced [pic.twitter.com/xmRf2qUki3](https://t.co/xmRf2qUki3?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) [August 17, 2017](https://twitter.com/ditzkoff/status/898180101803782145?ref=hyperallergic.com) > TRUMP: We must respect and honor our beautiful statues! > > STATUE OF LIBERTY: [pic.twitter.com/QSZnLtqEQn](https://t.co/QSZnLtqEQn?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — Jesse McLaren (@McJesse) [August 17, 2017](https://twitter.com/McJesse/status/898215270560530434?ref=hyperallergic.com) > Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments ? [pic.twitter.com/Pz2Zk27ANV](https://t.co/Pz2Zk27ANV?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — MrsG? (@Grouchosauras) [August 17, 2017](https://twitter.com/Grouchosauras/status/898197667477696512?ref=hyperallergic.com) I’d like to end this very important post by chiming in to argue that the most beautiful figurative statues out there are [of women](https://hyperallergic.com/226186/the-only-five-public-statues-of-historic-women-in-nyc/) (minus [Fearless Girl](https://hyperallergic.com/the-sculpture-of-a-fearless-girl-on-wall-street-is-fake-corporate-feminism/), duh) as well as those commemorating our [furry](https://hyperallergic.com/tour-meownuments-worlds-pawesome-cats/) [friends](https://twitter.com/thesarahgorman/status/898207246257201152?ref=hyperallergic.com).