Robert Gates joins calls for Army bases named after Confederate leaders to be renamed

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates voiced support for renaming military bases named after Confederate leaders in a recent interview, citing the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died last month after a white police officer was recorded kneeling on his neck during an arrest. 

“The events since the killing of George Floyd present us with an opportunity where we can move forward to change those bases,” he told The New York Times in an interview published on Sunday. “It’s always puzzled me that we don’t have a Fort George Washington or a Fort Ulysses S. Grant or a Fort Patton or a facility named for an African-American Medal of Honor recipient. I think the time has come, and we have a real opportunity here.” 

While Gates, who served as defense secretary under the Obama and Bush administrations, told the Times he is “very sensitive to the notion of rewriting history,” he also said he thinks the Confederate markers are a reminder of “the dark side of our history.”

“They belong in a museum someplace so we’re not celebrating them, we’re learning from them and the mistakes they made,” he told the paper.

His comments come several days after President Trump tweeted that his “administration will not even consider the renaming” of military bases that had been named after past leaders of the pro-slavery Civil War-era cause after Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy recently expressed openness to the idea. 

“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,” he 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,” the president continued. 

However, Trump’s declaration didn’t stop the GOP-led Senate Armed Services Committee from approving an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) shortly after that requires bases named after Confederate leaders to be renamed. 

The White House has since said that Trump plans to veto the measure if the amendment is included. 

The back-and-forth on Capitol Hill comes as local efforts to remove Confederate symbols have picked up in the nation in recent weeks amid widespread protests against police brutality and racism following Floyd’s death and the police killings of other African Americans.