Major General (Ret.) Paul Eaton on Trump Tweets Defending Confederate-Named Bases
WASHINGTON, DC — The following is the statement of Major General (Ret.) Paul D. Eaton, former commanding general at Fort Benning, on Donald Trump’s tweets defending the naming of US Army bases after Confederate officers. Fort Benning is one of those bases.
“Today, Donald Trump made it official. Rather than move this nation further away from institutionalized racism, he believes we should cling to it and its heritage, by keeping the names of racist traitors on the gates of our military bases. These bases were named long after the Civil War was over, by whites who wanted to fight back against progress towards racial equality. Donald Trump stands shoulder-to-shoulder with them, and against the ideals that the United States Army stands for.”