Trump has been known as a believer in the “big lie” theory for decades, and it appears this philosophy applies to many areas of his life. Of course, it’s helped him soar to the top of the Republican presidential primary. His campaign began with false claims about the crime rate among Mexican immigrants. Now he’s continuing to insist he saw “thousands and thousands” of American Muslims celebrating 9/11 even when presented with the fact that it never happened.
But it appears the theory touches even Trump’s outdoor decor. On his golf course in Washington, D.C. overlooking the Potomac River, there is a a flagpole atop a large stone pedestal that bears a fancy plaque memorializing “The River of Blood.” As The New York Times reports, the plaque bears the Trump family crest, and beneath it, an inscription: “Many great American soldiers, both of the North and South, died at this spot. ... The casualties were so great that the water would turn red and thus became known as ‘The River of Blood.’”
This never happened, multiple historians told the Times. The closest thing to an incident like that during the Civil War was 11 miles upriver, but there was no river of blood there. When confronted with these facts, Trump, naturally, refused to abandon his version of reality. He said of the historians, “How would they know that? Were they there?”