Rep. Wesley Hunt defends Trump's move to restore Robert E. Lee's name to military base
Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, defended former President Donald Trump's decision to restore the name of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Fort Gregg-Adams during an appearance on "Real Time," Friday, following the Biden administration's 2023 removal of Lee's name from the base.
Hunt argued that keeping Confederate generals' names on statues and military bases serves as "a reminder of what was," and if we don't remember our nation's history, "we are doomed to repeat it."
When asked by host Bill Maher what he thought of Trump's decision to rename the base, Hunt told the late-night host he actually lived in the Robert E. Lee Barracks when he attended West Point.
"I'll never forget walking under the threshold of Robert E. Lee Barracks and thinking to myself: 'Damn, this is one hell of a country,'" he told Maher. "Because only in America can someone like me walk into a building named after a Confederate general and then be a successful West Point graduate."
The Texas congressman argued that if the United States were to start changing the names of buildings, every single building would be named Jesus Christ "based on perfection."
Maher, an outspoken atheist, responded, "Well…" to the laughter of the panel and audience.
After a quick laugh, Hunt got right back to making his case against the removal of historical statues and buildings that represent a darker time in the nation's history.
He noted that he is married to a white woman and the father to three biracial children, something that would not have been possible during the time period these historical figures were alive.
"I cannot wait to show them — and take them to places that — that wasn't always the case," he told the panel. "There was a time when your mother and daddy couldn't be married."
Hunt celebrated the fact that his children have the opportunity to experience "second-lining down in New Orleans," while also spending time on his wife's family farm in Iowa, adding, "That is America."
"And I do not want to take down these statues and change the names of these buildings because they're a reminder of what was. And if we don't remember it, we are doomed to repeat it," he concluded.
After all of this, Maher responded, "Oh. So there's a reason for it. I see."
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