Looks like Tom Cotton just dumped more fuel to the fire that was simmering.... What he said could be used against him and be looked at as an admission of liability (if he becomes President) in regards to issuing a Presidential apology and reparations.

Arkansas Republican senator Tom Cotton (possible presidential candidate in 2024) has called the enslavement of millions of African people “the necessary evil upon which the union was built”.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...new-york-times