Trump steps into the Civil War debate

AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File

Former President Donald Trump turned heads on Saturday when he said that he believes the Civil War “could have been negotiated.”

Trump’s comments came at the heels of the controversy surrounding fellow GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s answer to a question about the causes of the Civil War.

Trump made the comments during an Iowa rally, calling the Civil War “so, so horrible” but also “fascinating.”

“So many mistakes were made,” Trump said. “See, there was something I think could have been negotiated, to be honest with you.”

“I think you could’ve negotiated that,” he continued. “All the people died, so many people died.”

Trump added that President Abraham Lincoln could have “negotiated” the Civil War but that “you probably wouldn’t even know who Abraham Lincoln was” if he had.

“He would have been president, but he would have been president and he wouldn’t have been The Abraham Lincoln,” Trump said. “Would’ve been different, but that would’ve been okay.”

“I know it very well. I know the whole process that they went through, and they just couldn’t get along, and that would’ve been something that could have been negotiated and they wouldn’t have had that problem.”