President Donald Trump says he plans to restore the original names of seven U.S. military bases that were changed because they honored Confederate leaders.
Speaking at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, on Tuesday, Trump told a crowd of soldiers, “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 A.P. Hill and Fort Robert E. Lee.” He added, “We won a lot of battles out of those forts, it’s no time to change,” according to CNN.
“We won a lot of battles out of those forts,” Trump continued. “And I’m superstitious, I like to keep it going right? I’m very superstitious; we want to keep it going, so that’s a big story. I just announced it today to you for the first time.”
The move comes four years after Congress passed a bipartisan bill, over Trump’s veto, with one proponent requiring the military to rename bases originally named for Confederate officers. The effort followed national protests over the murder of George Floyd and a broader call to remove Confederate symbols from public institutions.
Under former President Joe Biden, the Department Of Defense formed a naming commission to recommend new honorees, focusing on Americans who reflected the values of courage and service, including several women and Black military heroes. Fort Bragg had recently been renamed Fort Liberty, but under Trump’s latest plan, the original name would be reinstated.
The Army, in a statement after Trump’s remarks, said it will proceed with plans to assign the old names to new honorees who coincidentally share last names with the Confederate generals. According to CNN, Fort Gordon, previously renamed Fort Eisenhower in honor of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, would now be renamed for Master Sgt—Gary Gordon, a Medal of Honor recipient from the Battle of Mogadishu.
However, Trump contradicted that framing during his speech, saying Fort Gregg-Adams in Virginia would revert to Fort Robert E. Lee after the Confederate general. According to the New York Times, the Army had intended for the base to be renamed after Pvt. Fitz Lee, a Black Medal of Honor recipient.
Critics say this tactic skirts the intent of the 2021 law—retired Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule, vice chair of the naming commission, told Politico, “The bottom line is he’s choosing surname over service. It is breaking the spirit of a law that was created by the will of the American people through their elected representatives.”
Trump’s announcement has also raised concerns among military officials and lawmakers. One anonymous Army official told Politico that the announcement caught them off guard and that implementing the changes could take months.
The Confederate name rollbacks had been initially championed by a diverse commission, including members of both parties, and resulted in bases being renamed after historical figures such as Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley, the commander of the first Black women’s Army battalion to serve overseas in World War II, and Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a Black hero of World War I.
By attempting to reinstate names that many view as glorifying a racist legacy, Trump’s plan revives a painful national debate over how the country should remember its past. For many Black service members and their families, what once felt like long-overdue recognition now feels at risk of being erased. And for some, this isn’t just about names — it looks like the start of a broader push to roll back progress on inclusion and equity in the military.
At the heart of it is a bigger question: Who does this country choose to celebrate? And just as importantly, who gets left behind?