The Symbolic Power of Naming and Renaming in Politics

Names are important symbols, and President Trump is trying to change, or change back, quite a few. There’s the “Gulf of America” of course, but also the reversion of a military base from Fort Liberty to Fort Bragg, and efforts by his administration to erase the “T” in LGBT on government websites. Drew Goins, Molly Roberts and Theodore Johnson discuss what names say about our cultural values, and whether renaming places again and again misses the point.

Additional reading from the Washington Post:

What is Fort Bragg? Hegseth restores Army base name from Fort Liberty.

Park Service deletes trans references on Stonewall Inn monument page

Yes, really, it’s going to be called the Gulf of America.

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