President Donald Trump applauded West Point on Monday for canceling an award ceremony for Hollywood actor Tom Hanks. The president suggested that the U.S. military academy’s decision to prevent “WOKE recipients” from receiving awards was an “important move.”
In a Monday statement on Truth Social, 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,” Trump added. “Watch their DEAD RATINGS SURGE!”
According to The Daily Wire, the award ceremony honoring Hanks was initially scheduled to take place on September 25. The event would have involved the famous actor being presented with the Sylvanus Thayer Award.
The West Point Association of Graduates’ website explains that the Sylvanus Thayer Award is given to an individual “whose outstanding character, accomplishments, and stature in the civilian community draw wholesome comparison to the qualities for which West Point strives, in keeping with its motto: ‘Duty, Honor, Country.'”
READ MORE: West Point, Air Force Academy end race-based admissions under Trump admin
The Washington Post reported that Ret. Army Col. Mark Bieger confirmed on Friday that the award ceremony had been canceled. Bieger claimed that the decision would allow West Point to concentrate on the “core mission” of “preparing cadets to lead, fight, and win as officers in the world’s most lethal force, the United States Army.”
In June, the West Point Association of Graduates announced that the 2025 Sylvanus Thayer Award would be presented to Hanks. Announcing the ceremony, West Point Association of Graduates Board Chairman Robert A. McDonald said, “Tom Hanks has 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.”
After being selected as the recipient of the Sylvanus Thayer Award, Hanks said, “To have my first ever visit to the Academy be to accept such an honor as the Thayer Award is simply astounding.”
“West Point’s legacy of leadership, character, and service to the nation is a powerful example for all Americans,” Hanks added. “To be recognized by an institution whose graduates have shaped our country’s history through selfless service is both humbling and meaningful.”
