President Donald Trump commended West Point Academy for canceling an award ceremony intended to honor a “woke” actor.
The U.S. Military Academy scheduled an award ceremony for September 25 to honor Tom Hanks with a Sylvanus Thayer Award. The award is given annually to an American citizen “whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify personal devotion to the ideals expressed in the West Point motto, ‘Duty, Honor, Country.’”
‘Hopefully the Academy Awards, and other Fake Award Shows, will review their Standards and Practices in the name of Fairness and Justice.’
“Tom Hanks has done more for the positive portrayal of the American service member, more for the caring of the American veteran, their caregivers and their family, and more for the American space program and all branches of government than many other Americans,” stated Robert A. McDonald, the chairman of the West Point Association of Graduates.
WPAOG stated that Hanks’ “five-decade career reflects his support of veterans, the military, and America’s space program,” citing his work as a spokesperson for Washington’s World War II Memorial, a national chairman for the D-Day Museum Capital Campaign, and movie roles where he played U.S. service members. The group also noted Hanks’ support of military personnel through profits from Hanks for Our Troops, a coffee company.
Hanks called the honor “humbling and meaningful.”
“To have my first ever visit to the Academy be to accept such an honor as the Thayer Award is simply astounding. West Point’s legacy of leadership, character, and service to the nation is a powerful example for all Americans,” he said.
Retired Army Col. Mark Bieger, president and chief executive officer of the WPAOG, announced Friday in an email to faculty that the group had canceled the ceremony, according to the Washington Post.
“This decision allows the Academy to continue its focus on its core mission of preparing cadets to lead, fight, and win as officers in the world’s most lethal force, the United States Army,” Bieger wrote.
The email did not specify whether Hanks would still receive the award.
Trump responded to the cancellation in a Monday post on Truth Social.
“Our great West Point (getting greater all the time!) has smartly cancelled the Award Ceremony for actor Tom Hanks,” Trump wrote. “Important move! We don’t need destructive, WOKE recipients getting our cherished American Awards!!! Hopefully the Academy Awards, and other Fake Award Shows, will review their Standards and Practices in the name of Fairness and Justice. Watch their DEAD RATINGS SURGE!”
WPAOG and a representative for Hanks did not respond to a request for comment from Politico.
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