Union Victory Images Emerge Amid Trump Call for New Civil War

By Thomas Kika On 5/23/22 at 12:17 PM EDT

U.S. Trump Donald Trump Union Confederacy

Former President Donald Trump's sharing of a message predicting another Civil War in the U.S. came a day before posts celebrating a major anniversary for the victory of the Union army.

Trump shared the message on Truth Social, the embattled social network that he funded the creation of following his ban from Twitter. The post, from a user calling themself "MAGA King Thanos," included a screenshot of a tweet from El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele, in which he discussed the U.S. facing troubles due to inflation, noting that "something so big and powerful can't be destroyed so quickly, unless the enemy comes from within." The user's post read, "Civil war," multiple outlets reported.

The morning after the former president seemed to support the notion of a new American Civil War, the official Twitter accounts for the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and the Appomattox Court National Park in Virginia both shared images of Union army regiments returning to D.C. in 1865. These returns, called the Grand Review, came after the surrender of the Confederate armies and the end of the Civil War.

#OTD in 1865, the Army of the Potomac participates in the Grand Review in Washington, D.C. Marching down Pennsylvania Ave to the cheers of tens of thousands of spectators, veterans of the largest Union army of the #CivilWar are recognized for their service and contemplate its end pic.twitter.com/gUk3f53ReE
— Appomattox CH NHP (@AppomattoxNPS) May 23, 2022

Celebrating the end of 4 bloody years of Civil War, crowds lined Pennsylvania Ave #OTD in 1865 to watch the Grand Review as 150,000 men of the victorious Union Army marched through #WashingtonDC. See more images at https://t.co/kHpgHEUztP pic.twitter.com/22UMJVsK8O
— National Mall NPS (@NationalMallNPS) May 23, 2022

While these posts came very soon after Trump's activity on Truth Social and gained traction on social media as a contrast to the call for a new Civil War, it is likely the timing is a coincidence. The images were posted on May 23, which marked 157 years since the start of the Grand Review in 1865.

trump civil war union victory — Former President Donald Trump shared a social media message calling for a Civil War in the U.S., the day before images emerged elsewhere celebrating the Union's victory. Here, a shot of Union regiments returning to Washington, D.C., in 1865. Matthew Brady/Buyenlarge/Getty Images

Trump's seeming call for a new Civil War did inspire a strong backlash online, with some condemning his actions as "beyond dangerous."

"The disgraced, twice-impeached former president just shared a post from another user on his social media platform calling for Civil War," the anti-Trump political group MeidasTouch tweeted. "This is beyond dangerous."

Representative Adam Kinzinger, a GOP lawmaker from Illinois and one of Trump's fiercest critics within his own party, also chimed in on the repost questioning the lack of response from other Republicans.

Any of my fellow Republicans wanna speak out now? Or are we just wanting to get through “just one more election first…?” https://t.co/G6YXAC1qIb
— Adam Kinzinger🇺🇦🇺🇸✌️ (@AdamKinzinger) May 22, 2022

"Any of my fellow Republicans wanna speak out now?" Kinzinger wrote on Twitter, alongside a screenshot highlighting Trump's post. "Or are we just wanting to get through 'just one more election first...?'"