Latest news with #Confederates
NBC News
11 hours ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Trump says U.S. has 'too many non-working holidays' on Juneteenth
President Donald Trump did not formally mark Juneteenth on Thursday, complaining instead that there are "too many non-working holidays," while his predecessor, Joe Biden, celebrated the occasion at a Black church in Texas. The split-screen moment showed starkly different approaches to the 160th anniversary of the moment in Texas when Union troops arrived to enforce the end of slavery there. "Too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed," Trump said in a Truth Social post on Thursday without explicitly mentioning Juneteenth. Earlier in the day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump had no plans to sign a Juneteenth proclamation and indicated it was a normal working day. Trump had issued statements commemorating Juneteenth, before it was a federal holiday, during his first term. 'We're working 24/7 right now,' she said. A few hours later, Biden received a warm welcome at the Reedy Chapel AME Church in Galveston, Texas, where he criticized those who seek to "erase our history." In 2021, Biden signed legislation that established Juneteenth as a federal holiday in the aftermath of the racial justice protests sparked by the death of George Floyd. "Some say ... it doesn't deserve to be a federal holiday," Biden said. "They don't want to remember." He also criticized the Trump administration's move to rename military bases that were changed under Biden to remove references to Confederates. Trump has said he wants to restore the original names.
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Trump bans ‘negative' signage at national parks, asks visitors to snitch on unpatriotic text
In his ongoing war on "woke," President Donald Trump has instructed the National Park Service to scrub any language he would deem negative, unpatriotic or smacking of "improper partisan ideology" from signs and presentations visitors encounter at national parks and historic sites. Instead, his administration has ordered the national parks and hundreds of other monuments and museums supervised by the Department of the Interior to ensure that all of their signage reminds Americans of our "extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity and human flourishing." Those marching orders, which went into effect late last week, have left Trump opponents and free speech advocates gasping in disbelief, wondering how park employees are supposed to put a sunny spin on monuments acknowledging slavery and Jim Crow laws. And how they'll square the story of Japanese Americans shipped off to incarceration camps during World War II with an "unmatched record of advancing liberty." At Manzanar National Historic Site, a dusty encampment in the high desert of eastern California, one of 10 camps where more than 120,000 Japanese American civilians were imprisoned during the early 1940s, employees put up a required notice describing the changes last week. Like all such notices across the country, it includes a QR code visitors can use to report any signs they see that are "negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes". An identical sign is up at the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Kern County, a tribute to the struggle to ensure better wages and safer working conditions for immigrant farm laborers. Such signs are going up across the sprawling system, which includes Fort Sumter National Monument, where Confederates fired the first shots of the Civil War; Ford's Theater National Historic Site in Washington, D.C., where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated; and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park. So, nothing negative about John Wilkes Booth or James Earl Ray? In response to an email requesting comment, a National Park Service spokesperson did not address questions about specific parks or monuments, saying only that changes would be made "where appropriate." The whole thing is "flabbergasting," said Dennis Arguelles, Southern California director for the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Assn. "These stories may not be flattering to American heritage, but they're an integral part of our history. "If we lose these stories, then we're in danger of repeating some of these mistakes," Arguelles said. Trump titled his March 27 executive order requiring federal sign writers to look on the bright side "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History." He specifically instructed the Interior Department to scrutinize any signs put up since January 2020 - the beginning of the Biden administration - for language that perpetuates "a false reconstruction" of American history. Trump called out signs that "undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light." He specifically cited the National Historical Park in Philadelphia and the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., as bowing to what he described as the previous administration's zeal to cast "our Nation's unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness" as "inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed." His solution? Order federal employees and historians to rewrite the "revisionist" history with language that exudes patriotism. "It all seems pretty Orwellian," said Kimbrough Moore, a rock climber and Yosemite National Park guide book author. After news of the impending changes began circulating in park circles, he posted on Instagram a sign he saw in the toilet at the Porcupine Flat campground in the middle of the park. Across from the ubiquitous sign in all park bathrooms that says, "Please DO NOT put trash in toilets, it is extremely difficult to remove," someone added a placard that reads, "Please DO NOT put trash in the White House. It is extremely difficult to remove." Predictably, the post went viral, proving what would-be censors have known for centuries: Policing language is a messy business and can be hard to control in a free society. "Even the pooper can be a venue for resistance," Moore wrote. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Trump bans ‘negative' signage at national parks, asks visitors to snitch on unpatriotic text
In his ongoing war on 'woke,' President Trump has instructed the National Park Service to scrub any language he would deem negative, unpatriotic or smacking of 'improper partisan ideology' from signs and presentations visitors encounter at national parks and historic sites. Instead, his administration has ordered the national parks and hundreds of other monuments and museums supervised by the Department of the Interior to ensure that all of their signage reminds Americans of our 'extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity and human flourishing.' Those marching orders, which went into effect late last week, have left Trump opponents and free speech advocates gasping in disbelief, wondering how park employees are supposed to put a sunny spin on monuments acknowledging slavery and Jim Crow laws. And how they'll square the story of Japanese Americans shipped off to incarceration camps during World War II with an 'unmatched record of advancing liberty.' At Manzanar National Historic Site, a dusty encampment in the high desert of eastern California, one of 10 camps where more than 120,000 Japanese American civilians were imprisoned during the early 1940s, employees put up a required notice describing the changes last week. Like all such notices across the country, it includes a QR code visitors can use to report any signs they see that are 'negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes'. An identical sign is up at the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Kern County, a tribute to the struggle to ensure better wages and safer working conditions for immigrant farm laborers. Such signs are going up across the sprawling system, which includes Fort Sumter National Monument, where Confederates fired the first shots of the Civil War; Ford's Theater National Historic Site in Washington, D.C., where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated; and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park. So, nothing negative about John Wilkes Booth or James Earl Ray? In response to an email requesting comment, a National Park Service spokesperson did not address questions about specific parks or monuments, saying only that changes would be made 'where appropriate.' The whole thing is 'flabbergasting,' said Dennis Arguelles, Southern California director for the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Assn. 'These stories may not be flattering to American heritage, but they're an integral part of our history. 'If we lose these stories, then we're in danger of repeating some of these mistakes,' Arguelles said. Trump titled his March 27 executive order requiring federal sign writers to look on the bright side 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.' He specifically instructed the Interior Department to scrutinize any signs put up since January 2020 — the beginning of the Biden administration — for language that perpetuates 'a false reconstruction' of American history. Trump called out signs that 'undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.' He specifically cited the National Historical Park in Philadelphia and the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., as bowing to what he described as the previous administration's zeal to cast 'our Nation's unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness' as 'inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed.' His solution? Order federal employees and historians to rewrite the 'revisionist' history with language that exudes patriotism. 'It all seems pretty Orwellian,' said Kimbrough Moore, a rock climber and Yosemite National Park guide book author. After news of the impending changes began circulating in park circles, he posted on Instagram a sign he saw in the toilet at the Porcupine Flat campground in the middle of the park. Across from the ubiquitous sign in all park bathrooms that says, 'Please DO NOT put trash in toilets, it is extremely difficult to remove,' someone added a placard that reads, 'Please DO NOT put trash in the White House. It is extremely difficult to remove.' Predictably, the post went viral, proving what would-be censors have known for centuries: Policing language is a messy business and can be hard to control in a free society. 'Even the pooper can be a venue for resistance,' Moore wrote.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
'The law is the law': Va. senator rejects Trump move to rebrand Army posts to former names
Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine is rejecting what he calls the Trump Administration's "whim" to change the names of Fort Gregg-Adams and two other Virginia Army posts back to their original branding, saying he will continue to refer to the installations with their current names because "the law is the law." In a Zoom session June 11 with Virginia reporters, Kaine said he does not believe President Donald Trump has the authority to overturn congressional litigation that changed the names of Forts Lee, A.P. Hill and Pickett to Fort Gregg-Adams, Fort Walker and Fort Barfoot, respectively. The legislation, part of the unanimously passed 2020 Defense Authorization Bill, was vetoed by Trump in 2020 because of the removal of the names of Civil War Confederate heroes. Congress, however, overrode the veto, and the Biden Administration moved forward with the initiative. The new names went into effect in 2023 after a Pentagon-appointed Naming Commission vetted new brands that would reflect racial equality and inclusivity. 'The law is the law,' Kaine, D-Virginia, said in response to a question from The Progress-Index during the session. Kaine called the decision strictly partisan because Trump disagreed with the original decision. Kaine is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which played a role in both the Defense Authorization Bill and the renaming issues. After Trump regained the White House last January, he vowed to reverse all efforts by his predecessor, Joe Biden, that promoted diversity, equality and inclusion, or DEI. One of those, he said, was the base renamings. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth – who Kaine called Trump's 'court jester' during his response – began the process of reinstalling the former names but insisted that the changes did not memorialize Confederates. The first two to change were Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Benning in Georgia. But instead of honoring the former Confederate heroes they were originally named for, Hegseth said the new monikers honored U.S. military personnel who happed to have the same last name. More: Fort Liberty now Fort Bragg. What's the history behind the name and Hegseth's decision? More: Not that Benning: Hegseth renames Fort Moore, but not for Confederate general, he says 'The president can't change the law on a whim, and his court jester Pete Hegseth can't do it, either,' Kaine said. 'Pete Hegseth has so disgraced himself by the 'Signalgate' problem and other things that they just kind of put him off in a corner and said, 'Why don't you come up with cute Confederate-adjacent names?' And he's been scouring the record for other people named Lee or other people named Pickett he could change the name after.' Under the Defense directive, Fort Gregg-Adams would return to Fort Lee. But instead of former Confederate Army Commander Gen. Robert E. Lee, the name would recognize Private Fitz Lee, a 'Buffalo Soldier' from Dinwiddie County who received the Medal of Honor for bravery during the Spanish-American War at the end of the 19th Century. Fort Barfoot, the Blackstone-based headquarters of the Virginia National Guard, would go back to Fort Pickett in honor of First Lt. Vernon W. Pickett, a Distinguished Service Cross recipient in World War II. Fort Walker, in Caroline County north of Richmond, would go back to Fort A.P. Hill, but this time would be named for three Union soldiers whose last names start with "A" and "P" − Private. Bruce Anderson and First Sgt. Robert A. Pinn − and Lt. Col. Edward Hill. All three men received the Medal of Honor for bravery during the Civil War. More: Fort Gregg-Adams to be named Fort Lee once again, but this time honoring a different Lee 'It's an embarrassment for the secretary. It is an effort to devalue the work of the Naming Commission,' the senator said. 'It devalues the contributions of General Gregg and Colonel Adams ... Van Barfoot, the name that was assigned after a great deal of study to Fort Pickett ... Mary Walker, the name that was assigned after a great deal of study to Fort A.P. Hill. It devalues their contributions, but it also flies in the face of a congressional statute that, try though he might, the president was not able to stop.' Kaine continued to refer to the post as Fort Gregg-Adams, and he will be in town June 13 for two ceremonies reopening the post's drop zone on River Road and the realignment of the post's borders to offer unfettered public access to visitors of its museums. 'I'm going to be at Fort Gregg-Adams on Friday, and I plan to talk about why the name of the fort is still 'Fort Gregg-Adams,'' Kaine said. 'Everybody that has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution cannot just get in line and follow an unlawful declaration by the secretary of Defense which in no way trumps statute.' Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@ or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Kaine dismisses Trump decision to change name of Fort Gregg-Adams
Axios
5 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
Trump moves to restore Confederate names on 3 Va. Army bases
President Trump announced this week that he wants to restore the original names of seven Army bases, including three in Virginia, that once honored Confederate leaders. Why it matters: A federal law bans U.S. military bases from being named after Confederates. But the Trump administration is working around it by designating the bases after other people with the same names or initials. Catch up quick: Trump vetoed that bill in 2020 but was overridden in a bipartisan vote from Congress. Then in 2023, Virginia's Fort Lee became Fort Gregg-Adams, named after two Black officers — including the first Black woman in the Women's Army Corps and a three-star general. Fort A.P. Hill, named after the same A.P. Hill who once had a Richmond statue dedicated to him, became Fort Walker, after the Army's first female surgeon. Fort Pickett was redesignated as Fort Barfoot, the first Army base in the U.S. to be named after a Native American soldier. By the numbers: The cost of renaming nine bases honoring Confederates was estimated to total nearly $40 million, per the Military Times. To change the names of the three Virginia bases: at least $4.7 million, per a congressional report estimate. Zoom in: It's unclear how much it'll cost to change them back, but here's who they're technically named after now, per the Army: Fort Lee won't be honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, who had the largest Confederate monument in the country before its 2021 removal in Richmond. Instead, it'll be named after Pvt. Fitz Lee, a Black soldier from Dinwiddie who fought in the Spanish-American war. Fort A.P. Hill is now named after Pvt. Bruce Anderson, 1st Sgt. Robert A. Pinn and Lt. Col. Edward Hill.
