New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu defended his removal of Confederate monuments, telling NBC News’ Chuck Todd that the statues were “signs of oppression for 67 percent of my city.”
New Orleans has removed four Confederate monuments in the city, some under the cover of night to try and prevent angry protests. (RELATED: New Orleans Uproots Third Confederate Statue In Early Morning Operation)
Landrieu denied that the decision had “anything to do with politics,” instead saying in the interview that will air in full on Sunday’s “Meet The Press” that “it is a very important issue for the country to confront as we’re being honest and truthful with ourselves about who we are and where we’re going.”
“The monuments that were in place were really signs of oppression for 67 percent of my city that is forced to walk by them, and I found that morally offensive, and so it didn’t make any sense,” the mayor added.
Todd asked Landrieu if his decision to remove the monuments may have contributed to division in his city.
“Well first of all, I didn’t start the Civil War, and I certainly didn’t start the racial divide that this country has had,” he responded.
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