Story highlights "I mean, had Andrew Jackson been a little bit later, you wouldn't have had the Civil War," Trump said

The Civil War was largely fought over the issue of slavery

Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump discussed the origins of the Civil War in an interview airing Monday, asking, "Why was there the Civil War? Why could that one not have been worked out?"

Trump's comments came during an interview with Washington Examiner columnist and CNN contributor Salena Zito that's set to air on Sirius XM Politics radio on Monday.

Trump was analogizing his insurgent 2016 presidential campaign to that of former President Andrew Jackson, whom he has praised repeatedly, when the conversation turned to the Civil War. Trump suggested the former president might have averted the conflict and began questioning the reasons that war broke out.

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

Trump continued, "People don't realize, the Civil War -- you think about it, why? People don't ask that question. But why was there a Civil War? Why could that one not have been worked out?"

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