Summary
- Tom Hanks was set to receive West Point's Sylvanus Thayer Award.
- The West Point alumni group canceled the award ceremony without explanation.
- Trump praised the cancellation, calling Hanks "destructive" and "woke."
The US president praised the US Military Academy (also known as West Point) alumni association on social media Monday for abruptly canceling a ceremony honoring Hanks, a two-time Academy Award winner who has portrayed a number of military characters and has a long history of supporting veterans.
Trump wrote:
“Our great West Point (getting greater all the time!) has smartly cancelled the Award Ceremony for actor Tom Hanks. Important move! We don’t need destructive, WOKE recipients getting our cherished American Awards!!! Hopefully the Academy Awards, and other Fake Award Shows, will review their Standards and Practices in the name of Fairness and Justice. Watch their DEAD RATINGS SURGE!”
Later this month, Hanks was supposed to get the 2025 Sylvanus Thayer Award for his "service and accomplishments in the national interest."
Without explaining the connection between the two, retired Col. Mark Bieger wrote in a message to faculty that the cancellation would enable the school 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”.
He has a strong commitment to the concerns of veterans. He served as the spokesperson for the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, on a national level. As stated in the initial statement of the alumni organization, he also backed Bob Dole's campaign to raise money for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial.
He has previously received an honorable induction into the Ranger Hall of Fame of the United States Army. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.
Forrest Gump, the Vietnam War soldier for whom he won an Oscar for best actor, Capt. John Miller in Saving Private Ryan, and Cmdr. Ernie Krause in Greyhound, for which he also created the screenplay, are a few of his military roles. In addition, he played the lead in the 2013 movie Captain Phillips and made an appearance in the Cold War movie Bridge of Spies.
His work has earned him seven Emmys and five Academy Award nominations for best actor, which he won twice in a row, making him one of the most honored actors in the United States.
Trump has frequently bemoaned his failure to win an Emmy for his reality television show The Apprentice, saying that he "should have gotten it," that he "got screwed out of an Emmy," and that "the Emmys are all politics." Trump has also dabbled in acting, including a cameo in Home Alone 2.
How have veterans groups and military figures reacted to the decision?
Many veterans have interpreted the cancellation as a politically-driven decision as part of broader cultural and political divisions that threaten to undermine respect for military service and national unity.
Veterans insist military honors should transcend partisanship and should seek to recognize real contributions to veterans and the armed forces. Hanks has contributed to the world of veterans both by portraying service members in the media and by advocating on behalf of veterans.
Some military officials and veterans have expressed disappointment in the politicization and loss of apolitical military institutions. They seem to view the decision to cancel the event as a betrayal of values that veterans have stood up for, particularly the apolitical values. Some worry that actions like this can hamper morale, befoul trust in military traditions, and degrade the relationship between military and the public accountability for those in uniform.