President Donald Trump has publicly applauded the cancellation of a ceremony at West Point Military Academy honoring ‘Forrest Gump’ actor Tom Hanks.
Tom Hanks was scheduled to receive the 2025 Sylvanus Thayer Award from the West Point Alumni Association this month, which was intended to recognize Hanks’ contributions throughout his film career to “the United States’ veterans, military, and space program.”
However, according to an email obtained by The Washington Post, the ceremony has now been postponed indefinitely. The email was reportedly sent to members by retired Army Colonel Mark Bieger, president of the association, to announce the cancellation. It is unclear why, as neither West Point nor the West Point Alumni Association responded to requests for comment.
For his part, President Trump praised this on the social network Truth Social. He wrote: “Our great West Point (which is getting greater!) has very cleverly canceled the award ceremony for Tom Hanks. This is an important move! We do not need vandals, call for reflection to receive our precious national awards.”
This reaction is said to have originated from Hanks’ previous criticism of Mr. Trump for making rude comments in an interview. He also supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. In an interview that same year, Hanks called Mr. Trump a “self-righteous person” and added that it would be a “dark day if he were elected.”
Before the above decision was made, Robert A. McDonald – Chairman of the Board of Directors of the West Point Alumni Association praised Hanks for all his contributions to representing the military.
Hanks, meanwhile, is best known for his starring role in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning World War II film Saving Private Ryan, about a group of Army commandos who cross enemy lines to save their comrades. His portrayal of Captain John Miller, the group’s leader, earned Hanks an Academy Award nomination.
Hanks’s career has largely consisted of starring or producing films that tell the stories of American soldiers. He produced the 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers, 2010’s The Pacific, and 2024’s Masters of the Air. He has also starred in films such as Greyhound, which focuses on the Battle of the Atlantic, and Apollo 13, which explores the deadly challenges of the American space program.