Former DHS Secretary: Removing Confederate Statues Is A Matter Of National Security

Matt Vespa

Statues of Lincoln, Catholic saints, and Confederate generals have been in the political debate as of late. There are even a few commentators who want to tear down monuments to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. It’s out of control, but then again—that’s the progressive Left. Now, former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says it’s a matter of national security. He made the remarks to ABC News’ Martha Raddatz on This Week Sunday. Our friends at the Washington Free Beacon clipped the exchange. 

"What alarms so many of us from a security perspective is that so many of the statues, the Confederate monuments, are now, modern-day, becoming symbols and rallying points for white nationalism, for neo-Nazis, for the KKK, and this is most alarming," Johnson said. "We fought a world war against Nazism. The KKK reigned terror on African Americans for generations."

"I salute those in cities and states who are taking down a lot of these monuments for reasons of public safety and security," he added. "And that's not a matter of political correctness. That's a matter of public safety and homeland security and doing what's right."

Now, the former DHS secretary did, however push back on the nonsense that we need to scrub our Founders, noting that a lot of African Americans already understand that Jefferson and Washington were slave holders. Johnson noted he has cousins whose names are “Washington,” and they’re proud to have that name. Refreshing to hear, though the whole notion that these statues, which have been in full display of the public for decades, only represent a national security matter now is a bit ludicrous.