NBC issues correction after Trump’s Robert E. Lee comment – By Mark Moore (nypost.com) / Oct 14 2018
NBC News issued a correction via Twitter on Sunday after President Trump called out the network earlier for “purposely” changing the meaning of his comments about Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.
“CORRECTION: An earlier tweet misidentified the general President Trump described as ‘incredible’ at a rally in Ohio. It was Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, not Gen. Robert E. Lee. An attached video clip lacked the full context for Trump’s remark,” the network said in the posting.
It referred to an NBC tweet posted on Friday during a Trump rally in Lebanon, Ohio, when he was celebrating historical figures from the Buckeye State.
“WATCH: President Trump says “Robert E. Lee was a great general” during Ohio rally, calling the Confederate leader “incredible,” the message said, adding a link to video of the event.
Earlier Sunday, Trump said his remarks were really a “shoutout” to Grant.
“NBC News has totally and purposely changed the point and meaning of my story about General Robert E Lee and General Ulysses Grant. Was actually a shoutout to warrior Grant and the great state in which he was born,” he wrote on Twitter. “As usual, dishonest reporting. Even mainstream media embarrassed!”
Trump in Friday’s address was singing the praises of Ohio-born President William McKinley when he brought up Grant, another native son.
Ohio “also gave you a general who was incredible. He drank a little bit too much. You know who I’m talking about,” Trump said.
Despite that, Trump said President Abraham Lincoln turned to him to defeat Lee, referring to the Confederate military leader as a “true great fighter.”
“And he went in and he knocked the hell out of everyone. And you know the story. They said to Lincoln, ‘You can’t use him anymore, he’s an alcoholic.’ And Lincoln said, ‘I don’t care if he’s an alcoholic, frankly, give me six or seven more just like him.’ He started to win. Grant really did – he had a serious problem, a serious drinking problem, but man was he a good general. And he’s finally being recognized as a great general,” Trump told the crowd.
https://nypost.com/2018/10/14/trump-says-robert-e-lee-comment-was-actually-a-grant-shoutout/
