Full Breakdown
Brian Kilmeade Breaks Conservative Consensus on Confederate Statues
6/5/2026, 12:20:52 AM
The On-Air Shift: Kilmeade’s Statement on Robert E. Lee’s Statue
During a Thursday edition of *Fox & Friends*, co-host Brian Kilmeade said he is “not necessarily into seeing Robert E. Lee’s statue come back.” Citing Lee’s own biography, Kilmeade added that “in his own words, he didn’t want a statue,” and concluded, “He made a choice, and it was the wrong choice.” The remarks followed Carley Shimkus’s note that a Lee monument removed from a Charleston, South Carolina, school campus in 2021 had been reinstated, and that Italian-American groups had filed a federal lawsuit to restore a Christopher Columbus statue removed from Columbus, Ohio’s city hall in 2020.
Context: Ongoing Monument Debates and Recent Legal Actions
The segment aired amid a national debate over Confederate symbols that intensified after the 2020 George Floyd protests. Since then, municipalities have removed or relocated monuments, and legal challenges have emerged, such as the Columbus statue lawsuit. In March 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to review monuments removed since 2020 and restore those deemed improperly taken down.
Key Players: Fox & Friends Hosts and Their Positions
- Brian Kilmeade – argued against reinstating Lee’s statue, emphasizing Lee’s documented post-war opposition to Confederate monuments.
- Carley Shimkus – introduced the recent monument removals and lawsuits.
- Ainsley Earhardt – expressed surprise, noting Kilmeade’s usual stance against “erasing history.”
- Lawrence Jones – offered a middle ground, stating “the statues are fine. Just don’t think that he’s a hero, because he’s not a hero,” and emphasizing “getting the history right.”
Timeline of Relevant Events
- 2020 – Kilmeade publicly urged Americans not to destroy historical monuments during nationwide protests.
- 2020 – Columbus, Ohio, removes Christopher Columbus statue from city hall.
- 2021 – Lee monument removed from a Charleston school campus.
- March 2025 – President Trump issues executive order to review and potentially restore removed monuments.
- Thursday, 2025 – Kilmeade delivers his on-air critique of Lee’s statue.
Official Statements & Responses
Fox News highlighted Kilmeade’s remarks as a “notable departure” from his 2020 position. The Trump administration’s executive order frames monument removal as a reversible action pending federal review, signaling continued federal interest in the issue. No formal response from Confederate-heritage groups was recorded in the sources.
Criticism & Opposition
Earhardt’s immediate reaction—“I’m surprised to hear you say that, because you always say, let’s not erase history”—illustrates intra-network disagreement. Jones’s comment that “the statues are fine” underscores a viewpoint that monuments can remain if contextualized rather than removed.
Verbatim Quotes
- “I'm not necessarily into seeing Robert E. Lee's statue come back,” — Brian Kilmeade, Fox & Friends co-host
- “If you read his biography — in his own words, he didn't want a statue,” — Brian Kilmeade
- “He made a choice, and it was the wrong choice,” — Brian Kilmeade
- “because you always say, let's not erase history.” — Ainsley Earhardt, Fox & Friends co-host
- “The statues are fine. Just don't think that he's a hero, because he's not a hero.” — Lawrence Jones, Fox & Friends co-host
Why It Matters
Kilmeade’s shift challenges the typical conservative media narrative that uniformly defends Confederate monuments. By aligning with historians who note Lee’s own opposition to such statues, the remarks may influence public discourse and legislative approaches to monument policy.
What’s Next
The Interior Department’s review, mandated by the 2025 executive order, is expected to produce a report later in 2025. Ongoing lawsuits, including the Columbus statue case, may set legal precedents that affect future decisions on public monuments.
