Trump strongly opposes renaming military installations named after Confederate leaders

President Trump on Wednesday declared his firm opposition to the idea of renaming military installations that bear the names of Confederate leaders.

The idea of renaming facilities that were named after such leaders has recently been sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man, after a white Minneapolis police officer. Confederate history is frequently associated with the country's segregated past. 

An Army spokesperson recently said Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Defense Secretary Mark Esper were "open to a bi-partisan discussion on the topic" of renaming the Army's 10 such facilities.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany during Wednesday's press briefing read a statement from the president that laid out his position. The president also tweeted his view on the subject.

"It has been suggested that we should rename as many as 10 of our Legendary Military Bases, such as Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Benning in Georgia, etc. These monumental and very powerful bases have become part of a Great American Heritage, and a history of winning, victory, and freedom," the president tweeted. 

"The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars. Therefore, my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations," Trump also declared in the tweet. "Our history as the Greatest Nation in the World will not be tampered with. Respect our Military!"

McEnany said the president "fervently stands against the renaming of our forts. ... And to suggest that these forts were somehow inherently racist and their names need to be changed is a complete disrespect to the men and women who on the last bit of American land they saw before they went overseas and lost their lives were these forts."