Trump denies Confederate flag is racist and threatens to veto bid to rename military bases
Donald Trump has claimed that people who display Confederate flags are “not talking about racism” and threatened to veto any legislation that includes measures to rename military bases named for Confederate leaders.
“When people proudly have their Confederate flags, they’re not talking about racism,” Mr Trump told Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday in a preview of an interview that is to be aired on Sunday. “They love their flag, it represents the South.”
The president also threatened to veto Congress' National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA) if it contains a provision to purge US military bases of all Confederate paraphernalia and honours, including their names. That provision has been included in both the House and Senate versions of the bill, which the federal government must pass every year to fund its defence budget.
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