Defying Trump Senate Panel Moves to Strip Military Bases of Confederate Names
Evan Vucci/AP
We ran the numbers: There are 1531 news articles covering this topic. 61% (932) are left leaning, 31% (474) center, 8% (125) right leaning.
The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee voted to require the Department of Defense to rename military bases named after Confederate generals. While left-leaning articles highlight that President Trump continues to make insensitive race comments, right-leaning articles highlight that late West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd’s legacy as a former member of the Klu Klux Klan is often overlooked.
The New York Times published a left-leaning article highlighting that while NASCAR is demanding that its fans no longer fly Confederate flags at races and corporate America is even taking a stance against racial injustice, President Trump continues to make insensitive and tone-deaf comments on race. On Thursday, Trump falsely suggested in remarks in Dallas that the protest movement seeking to “defund the police” would lead to eliminating emergency phone lines.
Reuters published a centrist article reporting that the Republican-led U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, Senator Jim Inhofe, expressed concern over the measure to require the Department of Defense to rename military bases named after Confederate generals. The legislation also requires the Pentagon to change the names of other assets such as streets, aircraft, and ships, named for Confederate officers.
Fox News published a right-leaning article highlighting that confederate monuments are being taken down and vandalized in cities across the country in the wake of George Floyd’s death in police custody, but measures largely overlook late West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd’s legacy as a former member of the Klu Klux Klan. Byrd’s name is on everything from highways to bridges to buildings in West Virginia.