



Democrats and political pundits ripped Trump for his comments,



"President Trump doesn't understand why there was a Civil war," tweeted Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.).

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"It's because my ancestors and millions of others were enslaved." President Trump on Monday spurred outrage and mockery by questioning why the Civil War happened and suggesting that President Andrew Jackson could have prevented it.Democrats and political pundits ripped Trump for his comments, published Monday in the Washington Examiner, and advised him to brush up on his history."President Trump doesn't understand why there was a Civil war," tweeted Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.)."It's because my ancestors and millions of others were enslaved."

President Trump doesn't understand why there was a Civil War.



It's because my ancestors and millions of others were enslaved. https://t.co/dFjpbp1pUy — Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) May 1, 2017

Chelsea Clinton also had a simple response for why the Civil War happened.

"1 word answer: Slavery," she tweeted.

"Longer: When Andrew Jackson died in 1845 (16 years before the Civil War began), he owned 150 men, women and children."

1 word answer: Slavery. Longer: When Andrew Jackson died in 1845 (16 yrs before the Civil War began), he owned 150 men, women and children. https://t.co/Icg6puG2JZ — Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) May 1, 2017

"UMMM... SLAVERY. The thing southern states were most concerned about in 1861 was the right to perpetuate slavery," tweeted Symone D. Sanders, a former top spokeswoman for Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersNo new taxes for the ultra rich — fix bad tax policy instead Democrats back away from quick reversal of Trump tax cuts The Memo: 2020 is all about winning Florida MORE (I-Vt.).

UMMM... SLAVERY. The thing southern states were most concerned about in 1861 was the right to perpetuate slavery. https://t.co/Sw3MygpvoX — Symone D. Sanders (@SymoneDSanders) May 1, 2017

Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) called the president's comments "an unfortunate remark."

"I mean, this is American history, and the president is questioning that," he said in an interview on CNN.

"I mean, the whole issue of land and slavery and sovereignty, it's clear. So I don't know why the president gets into these messes that he doesn't need to."

Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) chimed in as well.

Andrew Jackson was really pissed about Pearl Harbor#CivilWar #HistoryByTrump — Brendan Boyle (@RepBrendanBoyle) May 1, 2017

The president made the comments during an interview with the Washington Examiner's Salena Zito, in which he compared his presidential campaign to Jackson's.

"I mean had Andrew Jackson been a little bit later you wouldn't have had the Civil War. He was a very tough person, but he had a big heart," Trump said during the interview.

"He was really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War, he said, 'There's no reason for this.'"

Jackson, the nation's seventh president, died in 1845. The Civil War began in 1861.

In the interview, the president further questioned why the country could not have solved the Civil War.

"People don't realize, you know, the Civil War, if you think about it, why?" Trump said during the interview, which also aired on SiriusXM's "Main Street Meets the Beltway."

"People don't ask that question, but why was there the Civil War? Why could that one not have been worked out?"

Some journalists mocked the president, questioning his knowledge of history and criticizing him for claiming no one ever asks why the Civil War began.

Lincoln. Douglass. Jackson. The Civil War. Where is Trump getting this stuff? Is he cheating on Fox and watching the History Channel? — Binyamin Appelbaum (@BCAppelbaum) May 1, 2017

I'm excited for next year when Trump finds out about the American Revolution. — Binyamin Appelbaum (@BCAppelbaum) May 1, 2017

The punchline is not the Jackson comment, but Trump's self congratulation on being 1st to ask why the Civil War had to happen — David Frum (@davidfrum) May 1, 2017

Also "why was there the civil war" has been written about more than just about any subject in American history — Mazel Tov Cocktail (@AdamSerwer) May 1, 2017

Andrew Jackson was a slaveholding plantation owner. He also died 16 years before the Civil War began. This Trump answer is astonishing. https://t.co/wdKNkUOx1t — Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) May 1, 2017

As so many other things he says, these remarks from Trump on the Civil War sound like an out-take from @drunkhistory read by a sober person https://t.co/DsvUFZrs8b — Robert Mackey (@RobertMackey) May 1, 2017

I've started a GoFundMe to get to the bottom of that vexing question "why was there the Civil War?" https://t.co/WrtWV2KrRD pic.twitter.com/R7Ds4E4gwh — Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) May 1, 2017

The president has in the past praised Jackson. Ahead of a rally earlier this year, Trump compared his presidency to that of Jackson while marking the birthday of the nation's seventh president.

Trump referred to Jackson as the people's president.

"It was during the revolution that Jackson first confronted and defied an arrogant elite. Does that sound familiar?" the president said ahead of a rally he held earlier this year in Tennessee.

Shortly after being sworn in as president, Trump hung a portrait of Jackson in the Oval Office as an apparent nod to the populist sentiments of his administration.