President Trump slams removal of Confederate statues

(FOX 5 NEWS) - President Donald Trump is still dealing with the backlash from his controversial remarks about the white nationalist rally and violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. Three charities have now canceled planned fundraisers at the president's Mar-A-Lago resort.

As communities around the country continue to demonstrate against hate and remove symbols of slavery, Trump doubled down on his position. He posted a string of tweets declaring that taking down statues honoring leaders of the Confederacy is foolish.

Trump Tweeted: "Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson - who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish! Also the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!"

More than 1,000 Confederate statues and monuments stand across the country from Arlington National Cemetery to the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall collection. States could select replacements for those statues or Congress could order their removal by legislation.

In a statement, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the statues "reprehensible" and said Republicans should work to remove them. Sen. Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, called his bill to do just that "just one step."

Some historians side with the president.

The National Park Service said in a statement that Gettysburg National Military Park is "committed to safe guarding these unique and site-specific memorials in perpetuity."

Democrats are trying to take advantage of the outrage and anger at the president. The Democratic National Committee plans more than 160 events across the country this weekend to denounce racism.