The largest newspaper in Richmond, Va., made its case in an editorial Sunday that a statue of Jefferson Davis must come down, arguing that the former Confederate president lacks any virtues worth memorializing.

“Davis embodies everything that was awful about the Confederacy, and nothing about it that inspires some lifelong Southerners to grow misty-eyed,” The Richmond Times-Dispatch wrote in an editorial titled “Take down the Jefferson Davis Monument.”

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“He represents nothing worthy of glorification, and much that is shameful. Take him down.”

Davis had no qualms with the institution of slavery, the newspaper argued, saying he led the efforts to preserve and expand the practice.

“Unlike other Confederate leaders, whose redeeming qualities make them worthy of high regard to some and complex figures to others, Davis has few virtues to balance against his sins,” the Times-Dispatch wrote. “What’s more, unlike others such as Robert E. Lee, who considered slavery evil, Davis had no qualms about the institution.”

Critics who oppose the removal of Civil War Confederate statues have asked where the line will be drawn for removing memorials of historical U.S. leaders who have ties to slavery.

The newspaper, located in the Confederacy's former capital, said that while the line may not always be clear, it can be assessed by examining which leaders had expressed moral issues with the practice, like former Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

“[T]he difficulty of drawing a line in the right place does not make it impossible to draw lines altogether. Washington and Jefferson were flawed individuals, but they championed human liberty. They failed to live up to their ideals; the Confederacy embodied the wrong ones,” it wrote.

“Had Davis been an inspiring leader, a military genius, a gallant soldier, a paragon of reconciliation, even a statesman of any note, his repulsive qualities might be somewhat leavened. But he lacked those qualities entirely,” it continued.

The editorial comes at a time of a contentious debate of whether to remove such Civil War-era statues. The spotlight on the issue became magnified earlier this month after white nationalist groups — demonstrating against the removal of a Lee statue in Charlottesville, Va. — violently clashed with anti-racist counterprotesters.

President Trump defiantly denounced the removal of such statues shortly after the demonstrations in Charlottesville unfolded, saying it is "sad" that the "history and culture" of the country is "being ripped apart" by the removal of Confederate statues.

The statement added further fury to the fire after critics said Trump did not do enough to condemn white nationalist groups.