Trump vowed to restore Fort Liberty’s name back to Fort Bragg after it was changed to drop Confederate names of military bases.
Former President Donald Trump’s pledge to restore the Confederate title of a military base that was renamed has sparked criticism on social media.
During a town hall in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Friday night, Trump, the Republican nominee, said he would restore Fort Liberty’s name to Fort Bragg if he wins November’s election against Vice President Kamala Harris.
The base was originally named after Confederate General Braxton Bragg, but was officially renamed Fort Liberty last year as part of a broad Department of Defense initiative to rename military installations with titles of Confederate soldiers.
Trump had opposed the move as president, but Congress overrode his veto to approve defense legislation that included the provision. The calls to remove Confederate symbols grew during the racial justice protests that erupted in the summer of 2020 following the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police.
“I walked in, the first question that I asked, ‘Should we change the name from Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg?'” Trump said during his opening remarks at the town hall, to raucous applause.
