Trump Restores Fort Names Linked To Confederate Figures

During a speech at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, former President Donald Trump announced that he’s bringing back the old names of several U.S. military bases that had been changed because they honored Confederate soldiers. Fort Bragg itself had been renamed Fort Liberty for a while, but under Trump, it's back to Fort Bragg. And it's not just this one base. Trump shared that his administration plans to restore names at seven other bases too: Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rucker, Fort Polk, Fort A.P. Hill, and Fort Robert E. Lee.

While speaking, Trump said, “We won a lot of battles out of those forts — it's no time to change.” He even added a bit casually, “And I'm superstitious, you know, I like to keep it going right.” Clearly, for him, there’s something symbolic about keeping the old names as they are.

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Trump Always Wanted To Keep The Original Names

Honestly, this isn't new for Trump. Even during his first term, back in 2020, he had vetoed a bill that aimed to create an independent commission to recommend name changes. That bill came after the racial justice protests, and Congress pushed it through again with support from both Republicans and Democrats. The idea behind the commission was to move away from honoring Confederate leaders, who fought to defend slavery during the Civil War.

Now that Trump’s back in office, the Department of Defense has already restored names for two military bases: Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Benning in Georgia, which had been briefly renamed Fort Moore. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth found a way around the commission's work by linking the names to soldiers from later wars who happened to share the same last names as the Confederate leaders.

Critics Say This Reverses The Will Of The People

Not everyone is happy about Trump’s decision. Retired Army Brigadier General Ty Seidule, who helped lead the Naming Commission, strongly criticized the move. He said that Trump is basically undoing what Congress and the American people had decided through their elected officials. According to Seidule, the new names honored true American heroes who fought for the country and reflected its best values.

Seidule, who once led the history department at West Point, didn’t hold back. He pointed out that Confederate soldiers had chosen treason in order to protect and expand slavery. To him, these figures represent some of the darkest parts of American history, not something to be celebrated.