Trump ‘Will Not Even Consider’ Renaming Military Bases Amid Racial Tensions

President Trump on Wednesday tweeted that his administration “will not even consider” renaming Army bases named after Confederate military leaders, after Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Defense Secretary Mark Esper both indicated that they were “open” to doing so, according to The Hill.

“It has been suggested that we should rename as many as 10 of our Legendary Military Bases, such as Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Benning in Georgia, etc.,” tweeted Trump. “These Monumental and very Powerful Bases have become part of a Great American Heritage, and a history of Winning, Victory and Freedom.”

Trump then said that the USA has “trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars.”

…history of Winning, Victory, and Freedom. 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…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 10, 2020

…Our history as the Greatest Nation in the World will not be tampered with. Respect our Military!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 10, 2020

There are 10 Army bases around the country named for Confederate military officers: Fort Lee, Fort Hood, Fort Benning, Fort Gordon, Fort Bragg, Fort Polk, Fort Pickett, Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Rucker and Camp Beauregard.

The stance the Army announced Monday marked a reversal from as recently as February, when the service told Task & Purpose it had no plans to change the name of any base, including those named after Confederate military officers.

The about-face came amid nationwide protests over police violence and racial injustice sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died when a police officer who has since been charged with second-degree murder knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. –The Hill

As we noted earlier Wednesday, civil rights activists have been rushing to censor, eliminate, or otherwise memory-hole anything construed as racially insensitive in the wake of the Floyd murder.

In addition to HBO Max’s cancellation of “Gone With The Wind,” the outrage mob has managed to get shows worldwide cancelled because… racism…

Netflix and the BBC pulled reruns of sketch comedy show “Little Britain” over its repeated use of blackface.

Paramount Network canceled the long-running police reality show “Cops“.

Additionally, four cast members from Bravo’s reality show, “The Vanderpump Rules,” have been fired, CNN reported.

Hartley Sawyer, who played the Elongated Man on CW’s superhero show “The Flash,” was fired for tweets the actor later acknowledged were “hurtful and unacceptable,” according to the BBC. 

Meawhile, a statue of Christopher Columbus in Richmond, VA was beheaded and thrown into a lake in Byrd Park on Tuesday after burning an American flag on the fallen figure.