Donald Trump has promised to rename army bases with the names of Confederate soldiers who fought to keep Black people in slavery.
Speaking at Fort Bragg to kick off festivities for the 250th anniversary of the US Army, Trump told the audience he would rename army bases that had been changed under the Biden administration.
“For a little breaking news, we are also going to be restoring the names to Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rucker, Fort Polk, Fort AP Hill, and Fort Robert E Lee,” the president said.
“We won a lot of battles out of those forts… And I’m superstitious, you know, I like to keep it going, right?”
The announcement is likely to prove contentious as Confederate symbols are viewed as signs of racism and white supremacy for many Black people, representing those who fought to perpetuate oppression.
Robert E Lee, for example, was a decorated military officer from Virginia who was responsible for some of the Confederacy’s most consequential victories in its fight to protect slavery.
In 2023, the army base that bore his name was changed to Fort Gregg-Adams in honour of two African American officers.
The president made his announcement to a largely pro-Trump crowd of military members, who booed as he took aim at the “fake media”, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and his predecessor Joe Biden.
“You think this crowd would have turned up for Biden?” he joked.
He also used the speech to highlight the protests in California, vowing to “liberate Los Angeles from the migrant invasion” after days of unrest in America’s second most populous state.
The address at Fort Bragg kicked off the army’s 250th anniversary, a celebration that will culminate with an unprecedented parade in Washington on June 14, the day of Trump’s 79th birthday.
The sound and visual extravaganza will take place along Constitution Avenue and feature thousands of uniformed troops marching in formation, as well as about 100 military vehicles, including M1A2/Abrams tanks; Black Hawk, Apache, and Chinook helicopters.
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