The Wednesday announcement that legendary abolitionist Harriet Tubman would bump former President Andrew Jackson from the front of the $20 bill was greeted with wide praise and celebration.
But the change was far from welcome in certain conservatives circles, with politicians and pundits slamming the news as a win for political correctness and responding with praise for Jackson, who owned slaves and engineered the genocide of thousands of Native Americans.
Here are some of the best conservative reactions on the decision.
The Politicians
Donald Trump
In a Thursday morning town hall, Trump called the move “pure political correctness” and said it’s “very rough” to pull Jackson’s likeness from the $20.
Ben Carson
Appearing as a Trump campaign surrogate Wednesday, the retired neurosurgeon said while he loves Tubman, “we can find another way to honor her,” like putting her on the $2 bill instead. Carson also praised Jackson, who ordered the forced relocation of nearly 50,000 Native Americans, as a “tremendous” President.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Alexander defended Jackson’s legacy, saying the government can honor Tubman without casting aside the former President.
“United States history is not Andrew Jackson versus Harriet Tubman,” Alexander said in a statement. “It is unnecessary to diminish Jackson in order to honor Tubman. Jackson was the first common man to be elected president. He fought to save the Union. He defined an American era. He helped found the Democratic Party.”
Jackson is regarded as one of Tennessee’s native sons, having represented the state in the U.S. Senate and spending much of his adult life and later years at his plantation near Nashville.
The Pundits
Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren
The conservative pundit said the Obama administration kicked off a “completely unnecessary fight” that could have been avoided by giving Tubman her own denomination, like the $25 bill.
“We could use a $25 bill. Put her picture on that and we could all celebrate. That’s the smart and easy thing to do,” Van Susteren said on her show Wednesday night. “But no, some people don’t think and would gratuitously stir up conflict in the nation. That is so awful, and yes, dumb.”
The ‘Fox and Friends’ crowd
Conservative author Crystal Wright showed up as a guest on Thursday morning’s show to blame the change on partisan Democrats.
“I love Harriet Tubman. I don’t think we should be changing the face of money because Democrats are offended by history,” Wright, who edits the blog Conservative Black Chick, said. “When will this end, this endless obsession with Democrats’ over political correctness?”
She also said Democrats were using “our currency as a political weapon.”
In another part of the show, Fox News host Brian Kilmeade called Jackson “one of the best generals we ever had.”
The ‘actually’ crowd
Others, National Review writer Charles C.W. Cooke among them, cast Tubman as a Republican and gun-rights hero.
This would be a delightful design. pic.twitter.com/ghW5r35fsV
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) April 20, 2016
And of course, there were memes that attempted to flip the script on Democrats. Via the Young Conservatives:
@instapundit @yidwithlid @VoterCenter @politico pic.twitter.com/5LQe1jIIOK
— MP44 (@shootingfurfun) April 21, 2016
Wtf?!
I’m good w/ Harriet Tubman on $20. Great lady. But why not put Susan Rice on $10 bill? Lied about Benghazi on 5 Sunday talk shows. Historic.
— Larry Kudlow (@larry_kudlow) April 21, 2016
With all this stuff about Jackson, I’d like to make clear I am all for us defeating the Indians and conquering America. #caring
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) April 21, 2016
This post has been updated.
