Four years after Fox News groused that “cancel culture” had come for Tom Hanks for not being “woke” enough, Donald Trump celebrated that a West Point alumni group had canceled an awards ceremony for the multiple Oscar winner for being too “WOKE.”
On top of that, the president also suggested that the Academy Awards and other organizations should follow suit and base their decisions on “Fairness and Justice” in order to prevent other “destructive” recipients from receiving their “cherished American Awards.”
Trump’s missive against Hanks comes days after the alumni association at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point reneged on holding a ceremony to acknowledge the achievements of Hanks. The cancellation comes just months after the organization said they were honoring the actor for his work as an “outstanding citizen” who exemplified the ideals of “duty, honor, and country” through his advocacy for veterans and portrayal of military service members on screen.
In its announcement in June, the association stated it was giving the prestigious Sylvanus Thayer Award to the 69-year-old actor, saying he had “done more for the positive portrayal of the American service member, more for the caring of the American veteran, their caregivers and their family, and more for the American space program and all branches of government than many other Americans.”
Besides pointing out Hanks’ support for creating the World War II Memorial in D.C. and his role as national chairman to establish the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, the association also highlighted his work portraying soldiers in Saving Private Ryan, Forrest Gump and Greyhound. Additionally, they noted that Hanks had helped produce the World War II-themed miniseries Band of Brothers and The Pacific.
Retired Army Col. Mark Bieger, president and chief executive officer of the West Point Association of Graduates, told faculty Friday that the group was canceling the planned ceremony and parade, which was scheduled to take place on September 25. According to Bieger’s email, he said this was part of a desire for the academy to instead focus on preparing future officers.
“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as officers in the world’s most lethal force, the United States Army,” he wrote, without noting if the award itself had been revoked or would be presented elsewhere.
“Our great West Point (getting greater all the time!) has smartly cancelled the Award Ceremony for actor Tom Hanks. Important move!” Trump crowed on Truth Social Monday morning.
“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,” the president added. “Watch their DEAD RATINGS SURGE!”
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The now-canceled celebration appears to have run directly into not only Trump’s makeover of the nation’s military branches and academies, but also the president’s pressure campaigns against institutions and media organizations that he feels have become too “woke” and politically correct.
Shortly after returning to the White House, the president signed an executive order that barred West Point and other military academies from “promoting, advancing or otherwise inculcating” ideas deemed “un-American” including “gender ideology” and the idea that “America’s founding documents are racist or sexist.”
Professors at the academies have since stated that they were compelled to remove books by esteemed authors such as James Baldwin, Toni Morrison and other writers of color. Furthermore, history classes on gender and race were canceled and the sociology major was dissolved.
In recent weeks, the administration has directed West Point to revoke Jen Easterly’s appointment from the school’s social sciences department following complaints from self-appointed Trump “loyalty enforcer” Laura Loomer. West Point also recently rehung a 20-foot portrait of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, which features a slave guiding Lee’s horse in the background.
And just last week, the president rebranded the Pentagon as the Department of War, complaining that the Department of Defense had become too “wokey.”
Meanwhile, Hanks’ longtime support of Democratic causes and presidents – he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama in 2016 – has likely fueled the president’s celebration of the awards ceremony cancellation.
Besides recently sparking outrage among MAGA supporters for his comedic portrayal of a Trump voter on Saturday Night Live (a reprisal of a role he first took on in 2016), Hanks has been critical of Trump’s actions and politics in recent years while campaigning for former President Joe Biden.
Following Biden’s 2020 election victory and Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, which culminated in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, Hanks hosted a televised event organized by the Biden Inaugural Committee. During the program, Hanks bemoaned the “deep divisions and a troubling rancor” that Trump had helped propagate during the previous years.
In a separate video a year later, Hanks touted the Biden administration’s handling of the economy and the COVID-19 pandemic, stating that the country was stronger than we were a year ago today.
Still, while Hanks has long received MAGA criticism for his liberal leanings and Democratic associations, right-wing media outlets have also defended him from so-called “cancel culture.”
In 2021, for instance, Fox News took aim at an NPR TV critic for writing a column calling on Hanks to be “anti-racist” rather than “non-racist,” claiming that the piece was yet another example of the liberal establishment attempting to “cancel” a prominent figure for not being “woke” enough.
“Cancel Culture Comes For Tom Hanks,” one Fox News chyron read during that ragebait cycle, while multiple network personalities raged about the treatment the Hollywood superstar was receiving at the time. “Being white in America apparently has a lot of pitfalls,” Fox News contributor Joe Concha declared at one point.
