President Trump said Wednesday he will not even consider renaming up to 10 “legendary” military bases named after Confederate generals, saying it amounts to an attack on the U.S. military’s record.
There has been widespread debate around renaming the bases, including Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Hood in Texas and Fort Benning in Georgia, in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis.
Mr. Trump says no way.
“The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars. Therefore, my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations,” he tweeted. “Our history as the Greatest Nation in the World will not be tampered with. Respect our Military!”
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany started a briefing by making sure reporters saw the tweet.
The White House distributed a printout of the tweet in the briefing room.
Ms. McEnany said renaming the forts would be an affront to men and women who trained at the sites before heading overseas.
“To suggest that these forts were somehow inherently racist, and their names need to be changed, is a complete disrespect to the men and women who the last bit of American land they saw — before they went overseas and lost their lives — were these forts,” she said.
She said Mr. Trump would veto any defense legislation from Congress that renames the forts for generals who, as one reporter put it, “won the Civil War.”
“The president will not be signing legislation that renames America’s forts,” Ms. McEnany said.
