Trump defends keeping Fort Bragg name amid calls to rename bases named after Confederate leaders

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Sunday, July 19, 2020
Trump defends keeping Fort Bragg name amid calls to rename bases named after Confederate leaders
When asked about the representation of Confederate leaders on U.S. military bases Trump said he was against such changes.

President Donald Trump defended the name of Fort Bragg amid calls to remove relations to Confederate general on U.S. military bases.

During an interview on 'Fox News Sunday,' Trump discussed issues of freedom of speech behind the Black Lives Matter movement and the Confederate flag. He defended both sides as "freedom of speech."

When asked about the representation of Confederate leaders on U.S. military bases Trump said he was against such changes, describing the calls for the name change as a symptom of "cancel culture."

"Fort Bragg is a big deal. We won two World Wars, nobody even knows General Bragg," Trump said. "We won two World Wars. Go to that community where Fort Bragg is, in a great state, I love that state, go to the community, say how do you like the idea of renaming Fort Bragg, and then what are we going to name it?"

Currently, Fort Bragg in North Carolina is one of 10 Army bases named after Confederate leaders.

RELATED: The history behind the naming of Fort Bragg as Pentagon considers renaming base

Fort Bragg is named after Warrenton native, Braxton Bragg, who was a general in the Confederate Army.

Trump even going as far as to jest renaming the fort after Rev. Al Sharpton.

"We won two World Wars, two World Wars, beautiful World Wars that were vicious and horrible, and we won them out of Fort Bragg, we won them out of all of these forts and now they want to throw those names away."

In June, army officials announced that they were willing to have bi-partisan discussions about renaming the bases.