Headline Roundup • June 10th, 2020
Trump Denies Calls to Rename Military Bases Memorializing Confederates
History,American Heritage,Civil War,Race And Racism,Donald Trump,Culture,Cancel Culture,US Military,Defense And Security
Summary from the AllSides News Team
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Slate
President Donald Trump just dug himself in more deeply on the wrong side of history in the fast-changing consensus on the role and shame of racism in America. In a tweet Wednesday afternoon, Trump strongly opposed renaming the 10 U.S. Army bases that are named after Confederate officers. As he put it:
These Monumental and very Powerful Bases have become part of a Great American Heritage, and a history of Winning, Victory, and Freedom. The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won...
As I have watched Confederate monuments being removed by state and local governments, and sometimes by the forceful will of the American people, the fact that 10 U.S. Army installations are named for Confederate officers has weighed on me. That number includes the Army’s largest base, one very special to many in uniform: Fort Bragg, in North Carolina. The highway sign for Bragg proclaims it home of the airborne and special operations forces. I had three assignments there during my career. Soldiers stationed at Bragg are rightly proud to serve...
Those comments came after it was learned U.S. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy will seek bipartisan support to change the names of the 10 Army bases named after confederates after protests against police brutality and racial injustice have given them new spotlight.
An Army spokesperson told Politico that Defense Secretary Mark Esper also supports the decision.
Former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus penned an opinion piece for The Atlantic saying, “it is time to remove the names of traitors like Benning and Bragg from our country’s most important military bases.”
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