Trump Likely Just Ordered West Point to Cancel Ceremony Honoring Tom Hanks
This fucking guy.
[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription, shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com. And if this is too big of a commitment, I’m always thankful for a simple cup of coffee.]
Since 1958, the United State Military Academy at West Point has honored one U.S. citizen annually with the Sylvanus Thayer Award for embodying the values of "Duty, Honor, Country."
Recipients of the Sylvanus Thayer Award are a Who's Who of American icons. Presidents, Supreme Court justices, Secretaries of State and Defense, astronauts, journalists, etc. have been honored.
It's basically the Academy's version of an honorary doctorate. It's a big deal.
There's always a military parade for the recipient and a ceremony and a formal dinner with the entire Corps of Cadets and Academy staff.
It's one of the biggest days on the West Point calendar.
Tom Hanks was set to receive the award later this month. His ceremony was just abruptly canceled by the Academy.
Tom Hanks is a pretty damn good choice. He's a longtime advocate for the military, veterans, and our families. He's made veterans issues his central advocacy area for decades.
And, of course, Mr. Hanks is among the most beloved Americans in the world.
His career is packed with performances and projects that embody the ideal American spirit and honor the American military.
So, obviously, it makes sense he'd be recognized for that. But yesterday, West Point alumni received an email that the ceremony has been cancelled.
The email from retired Army Col. Mark Bieger, head of the West Point Association of Graduates, did not clarify if the award has been revoked or if it will be awarded at a later date. It remains unclear if West Point is throwing Tom Hanks under the bus.
But why?
Colonel Bieger offered some incredibly vague reasoning: "This decision allows the Academy to continue its focus on its core mission of preparing cadets to lead, fight, and win as officers in the world’s most lethal force, the United States Army."
As a former West Point cadet, I can confidently tell y'all that this doesn't make a damn bit of sense. At all. It's absurd. And although no further details have been offered, this has Trump's fingerprints all over it.
Tom Hanks has supported Democrats throughout his career. He endorsed Barack Obama in 2008, Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Joe Biden in 2020. He's a supporter of LGBTQ rights. He's donated to countless Democratic campaigns. This feels a hell of a lot like political retribution.
We don't yet know what happened, and there's a small chance that there was some kind of complicating factor that resulted in the ceremony being cancelled. But I don't think that's it. I think this is Trump being petty over Mr. Hank's politics and getting revenge.
If that turns out to be the case, it's pretty damn disgusting that Trump has forced West Point into such an embarrassing and difficult situation.
In any case, Tom Hanks remains beloved by the veterans community. He's our guy. An award isn't needed to establish that.
Agreed. Tom Hanks is one of the good ones.
"I think this is Trump being petty over Mr. Hank's politics and getting revenge."
Agreed. It's merely a matter of figuring out which bizarre Trump quirk Hanks triggered. A few possibilities:
1. Hanks is a staunch environmentalist who both owned the EV1, GM's first electric car back in the '90s, and narrated the subsequent documentary about it: "Who Killed the Electric Car?" (Irony of course noted.)
2. He hit the Democratic-support trifecta: Obama, Hillary *and* Biden. (If anything, this may be too obvious of an answer.)
3. Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were among the first, if not *the* first, well-known celebrities to contract Covid, back in March 2020, which isn't helpful for Trump while RFK Jr. continues attacking anyone who points out his batshit vaccine fuckery.
Nonetheless, I suspect the answer can be found in the article below:
https://www.cnn.com/2017/03/02/politics/tom-hanks-white-house-press-espresso/index.html
Namely the note accompanying his gift of an espresso machine: "Keep up the good fight for the truth, justice and the American way. Especially for the Truth part.”