President Donald Trump held a rally at North Carolina’s Fort Bragg on Tuesday, criticizing his predecessor Joe Biden for having modified the fort’s title however not seeming to appreciate that whereas it’s once more Fort Bragg, it’s not named after the treasonous Accomplice common Braxton Bragg.
“Can you believe they changed that name in the last administration for a little bit?” he requested the assembled Military troops. “We restored the historic name of this very, very special place.”
Actually, although, Trump and his secretary of protection, Pete Hegseth, did no such factor. As a substitute, the fort is now named after Roland Bragg, a World Conflict II hero on the Battle of the Bulge.
The 2020 Nationwide Protection Authorization Act required that navy services honoring Accomplice officers be renamed. Trump vetoed it for that motive, however Congress overrode his veto and handed it into legislation.
Those that fought on the aspect of the Confederacy through the Civil Conflict are, by definition, traitors, having taken up arms in opposition to america.
Underneath Biden, a fee got here up with new names for Fort Bragg and eight different main installations after soliciting enter from native communities. Fort Bragg turned Fort Liberty in 2023.
However Trump, who had repeatedly praised the Confederacy throughout his first time period, promised to revert Fort Liberty’s title to Fort Bragg, and do the identical for the opposite bases, throughout his marketing campaign to regain his workplace.
“He knows his audience,” mentioned Mac Stipanovich, a longtime Republican advisor in Florida who left the celebration after Trump took over. “Hell, I get it. I am a 76-year-old white Southerner.”
However neither Trump nor Hegseth might unilaterally undo the legislation that had banned Accomplice names for navy bases, so Hegseth authorized a plan to “rename” Fort Bragg after a special Military officer with the identical final title.
One other main base, Fort Moore in Georgia, noticed its title revert to Fort Benning, though not after its authentic namesake, both.
The Military facility was named after Henry Benning, one other Accomplice common who supported slavery. After the passage of the availability in 2020, it was named Fort Moore, after Vietnam Conflict hero Gregory Moore and his spouse, Julia Moore, who helped create groups to inform households in particular person of their killed or wounded family members.
Underneath Trump and Hegseth, the fort was renamed Fort Benning — solely this time after Fred Benning, who acquired the Distinguished Service Cross in World Conflict I.
White Home aides didn’t reply to HuffPost queries about whether or not Trump understood that the names aren’t honoring Accomplice officers anymore.
“Remember, it was only that little brief moment that it wasn’t called Fort Bragg. It was by the Biden administration, not Trump,” he mentioned. “We got it changed.”
Stipanovich, who mentioned he considers himself pretty properly knowledgeable, mentioned he had assumed that Fort Bragg had been renamed after Braxton Bragg. “I don’t know who the Bragg is that it’s named after now,” he mentioned. “I doubt anybody sat down and briefed Trump.”
In his speech on Tuesday, Trump mentioned he would additionally restore the names of seven different bases initially named after Accomplice officers.
“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,” he promised.
Until the 2020 legislation is modified, although, Hegseth must discover veterans with the identical final names as these seven different Accomplice traitors as properly, though it’s unclear whether or not any officers have been named “Robert E. Lee” within the Military’s historical past apart from the commanding officer of the Accomplice forces.
