Abraham Lincoln began trending on Twitter during the second presidential debate Sunday after Donald Trump said Hillary Clinton could not be compared to America’s 16th president who was known as “Honest Abe.”
Clinton was asked if it’s acceptable for politicians to be “two-faced” in maintaining both a “public and a private position” at times to be successful in office—a comment she reportedly made during a speech before a Wall Street firm. Clinton said during the debate Sunday that she had made the remark at the time after seeing the Stephen Spielberg-directed film, Lincoln. “I was making the point that it is hard sometimes to get the congress to do what you want to do and you have to keep working on it,” she said.
Trump clung onto the Lincoln angle, responding with: “She lied, and now she’s blaming the lie on the late great Abraham Lincoln.”
“Honest Abe never lied,” he added. “That’s the big difference between Abraham Lincoln and you.”
Many on social media chimed in, giving voice to the late leader.
I bet Abraham Lincoln would rather go watch another play than watch this debate.
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) October 10, 2016
Abe Lincoln: I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative, one I have never asked to be apart of.#debate
— liz (@lzhrkns) October 10, 2016
https://twitter.com/owillis/status/785298168288309252
https://twitter.com/CaseyNewton/status/785299042519572482
https://twitter.com/BenSoloYoung/status/785309452329033728