President Donald Trump came out in defense of Confederate statues and monuments in a series of tweets Thursday.

“Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments,” Trump tweeted. “You can’t change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson – who’s next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!”

He later added, “The beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!”

The comments from President Trump came as local leaders around the country are calling for the removal of Confederate monuments following violence surrounding a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that in part sought to protect a statue of Robert E. Lee.

President Trump on Tuesday was asked whether the statue of Lee should be taken down and he replied, “I would say that is up to a local town, community or the federal government, depending on where it is located.”

A recent poll by PBS showed that 62 percent American believe “Confederate statues should remain in place as historical symbols.”