West Point Cancels Tom Hanks Awards Ceremony

The ceremony was to be accompanied by a parade held at West Point, attended by the entire Corps of Cadets. The Sylvanus Thayer Award is the closest equivalent to an honorary degree from West Point and is named after Colonel Sylvanus Thayer, who was superintendent of the school from 1817 to 1833.

Hanks, 69, has a history of making anti-Trump comments and a track record of donating thousands to Democrats, including former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris.

He’s also sent money to state Democratic parties across the country and sent cash to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and California Sen. Adam Schiff, donation records show.

The “Forrest Gump” actor infamously portrayed supporters of President Trump as a racist in a skit on the “Saturday Night Live” 50th anniversary special, in February, playing a character hesitant to shake a black man’s hand.

“Thank you, my brother,” Hanks said, finally accepting to shake the black character’s hand, while playing a character donning a MAGA shirt on the parody game “Black Jeopardy.”

“Now maybe I’ll start a show for you to come on and we’ll call it white Jeopardy,” Hanks said in the skit.

In 2021 Hanks hosted Biden’s prime-time TV special.

“This day is about witnessing the permanence of our American ideal,” Hanks said during the Biden show, which commemorated the president’s inauguration.

And in 2022, the “Saving Private Ryan” actor narrated a video in 2022 of the Biden administration’s accomplishments in its first year, insisting the country is “stronger than we were a year ago today.”

Bieger’s email was sent the same day Trump renamed the Department of Defense the Department of War telling reporters that he thinks it “sends a message of victory.”

“It’s a very important change because it’s an attitude,” he said of the move away from the word “defense.”

The Department of War was originally renamed in 1947 after WWII to be the Department of Defense.

Hanks supports veterans through the Elizabeth Dole foundation, in which he uses his fame to bring attention to America’s 14.3 million military and veteran caregivers.