President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he would restore the names of Confederate officers at seven U.S. military bases that had been renamed as part of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiative during the Biden administration. The MAGA leader announced this during a speech at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
The designations are expected to be restored at Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Gordon in Georgia, Fort Rucker in Alabama, Fort Polk in Louisiana and at Fort AP Hill, Fort Pickett and Fort Robert E. Lee in Virginia. The Army had changed the names of these facilities during the Biden administration, based on a 2022 study completed by a Pentagon commission, which recommended a new name for military installations that had been named after leaders of the Confederacy.
Many of these situated bases were dedicated to Confederate generals in the mid-20th century, at a time when Southern states were still restricting African Americans’ right to vote and assemble through Jim Crow laws.
“We won a lot of battles out of those forts. It’s no time to change. And I’m superstitious. I like to keep it going, right?” Trump said in North Carolina, regarding his decision to restore the names of Confederate officers who led troops to preserve slavery during the Civil War.
The president revealed that his staff had suggested he wait until Saturday to make the announcement, the day when a mega military parade will take place in Washington, D.C., to mark the 250th anniversary of the US Army. However, Trump explained that he couldn’t wait to reveal the news.
Fort Bragg is home to over 50,000 soldiers and is one of the largest military bases on the planet. In 1918, it was initially named in honor of Braxton Bragg, a Confederate general and slave owner. The Pentagon renamed it Fort Liberty in 2023.
When Trump’s Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, took office in February 2025, he ordered that the base be named after Private Roland L. Bragg, recognized for his bravery during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.
