欧博chevron
Trump praises West Point alumni group for canceling Tom Hanks award ceremony
by ELAINE MALLON | The National News Desk
Mon, September 8th 2025 at 12:04 PM
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 28: Tom Hanks attends Focus Features' "The Phoenician Scheme" New York Premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 28, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
TOPICS:
WASHINGTON (TNND) — An alumni association for West Point cancelled a ceremony honoring actor Tom Hanks with the 2025 Sylvanus Thayer Award, prompting praise from President Donald Trump.
Hanks, who has starred in a slew of blockbuster war films such as Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, was scheduled to receive the award during on September 25. Retired Army Col. Mark Bieger, president and chief executive officer of the West Point Association of Graduates shared in an email last week the decision to cancel the ceremony but did not explain if Hanks would still receive the award, the Washington Post reported.
“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,” wrote Bieger.
On Monday, Trump applauded the alumni association's decision, calling it an important move.
"Our great West Point (getting greater all the time!) has smartly cancelled the Award Ceremony for actor Tom Hanks," Trump wrote on Truth Social Social. "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."
Hanks riled up Trump supporters for his character "Doug," a low-income Southern Trump supporter, who appeared on the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live. The actor has long supported the Democratic party, having given his endorsement to Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden, President Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton when they ran for president.
In June, the alumni association announced Hanks as the 2025 recipient for the Sylvanus Thayer Award, which is awarded to an "outstanding citizen of the United States whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify personal devotion to the ideals expressed in West Point’s motto: “Duty, Honor, Country," according to the alumni association. The group cited Hanks work in films depicting World War II, which have garnered praise from "the World War II veteran community, for its realistic depictions of combat," as rationale for him to receive the award.
“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,” the alumni association said in a statement.
The National News Desk reached out to West Point for comment.