Trump says he could’ve solved Civil War better than Abraham Lincoln 'without losing 600K plus people'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump on Wednesday, June 18, said that he could have handled the Civil War better than former President Abraham Lincoln during a meeting with reporters at the White House.

Trump's statement comes days after he deployed American troops stateside as tensions built during the ICE raids. He recently deployed more National Guard members to Los Angeles.

Donald Trump believes he could have handled Civil War better than Abraham Lincoln

Donald Trump told the reporters on Wednesday, "The Civil War, it always seemed to me maybe that could've been solved without losing 600,000 plus people."

Amid the tension in Los Angeles, the overstepping of states' rights led California Governor Gavin Newsom to accuse the POTUS of wanting a civil war, which Trump denied.

He said earlier this month, "I don't want a civil war. Civil war would happen if you left it to people like him."

Earlier in June, Trump called for aggressive deportation operations in key sanctuary cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, which he called the "core of the Democrat Power Center", according to Newsweek.

Newsom responded to it and wrote on X, "His plan is clear: Incite violence and chaos in blue states, have an excuse to militarize our cities, demonize his opponents, keep breaking the law and consolidate power. It's illegal and we will not let it stand."

Moreover, it comes after reports emerged that the Trump administration has directed ICE to stop targeting farms, restaurants, and hotels amid concerns over the impact on industries, per the outlet.

Last week, Newsom took a jibe at Trump and called him a "stone-cold liar". He also condemned the federal deployment of troops in LA as "theater" and "madness" and questioned his mental fitness, per the Guardian.

Donald Trump warns LA protesters of force as they clash with police over ICE raids

In early June, Donald Trump denounced the people protesting the ICE raids on workplaces for spitting on law enforcement officers as he ordered the deployment of around 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles.

The president spoke to reporters in NJ before boarding Air Force One and vowed consequences for protesters who spit on law enforcement officers, Mediaite reported.

Trump said, "When they spit at people, you know, they spit, that’s their new thing. They spit and worse. You know what they throw at ’em, right? And when that happens, I have a little statement: They spit, we hit! And I told them — nobody’s going to spit on our police officers."

He added, "Nobody’s gonna spit on the military, which they do as a common thing. They get up to them this far away, and then they start spitting in their faces. If that happens, they get hit very hard."

Moreover, he said that he is considering invoking the Insurrection Act following the protests.

"It depends on whether there’s an insurrection," Trump said.

Meanwhile, when Trump was asked how he would define an insurrection, he replied, "You really just have to look at the site. You have to see what’s happening. Last night in Los Angeles, we watched it very closely. There was a lot of violence there. There was a lot of violence, and it could have gotten much worse."