Army bases named after Confederate generals will keep names, Trump says

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC) – President Donald Trump said Army bases named after generals who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War will not have their names changed.

The president posted a series of tweets Wednesday saying bases such as Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Hood in Texas, and Fort Benning in Georgia have become a part of the nation’s great “heritage.” He says troops who trained there won two world wars.

The president concluded by saying, “Our history as the Greatest Nation in the world will not be tampered with. Respect our Military!”

The president’s statement comes days after an Army spokesman said the Secretary of the Army was open to having a conversation about renaming ten army bases named after Confederate generals.

The push to rename military bases gained renewed momentum after the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis.

Retired Army General David Petraeus and former CIA Director wrote in a recent article, “It is time to remove the names of traitors from our country’s most important military installations.”

The NAACP has called for the removal of all Confederacy symbols, including the names of military bases. According to the Civil Rights group’s website, the “symbols glorify treason and a hateful history of white supremacy and black subjugation.”

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