Why is Donald Trump taking shots at Tom Hanks?

Donald Trump has hit out against Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, referring to the beloved artist as “destructive” and “woke”.

This follows the cancellation – reported by The Washington Post – of an awards ceremony by the US Military Academy (or West Point) last week.

Hanks, who has a long history of advocating for veterans, was supposed to receive the 2025 Sylvanus Thayer Award on 25 September for his “service and accomplishments in the national interest”.

“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,” association board chairman Robert McDonald said in a June press release about the award.

Retired Army Col. Mark Bieger, president and chief executive officer of the association, shared that the cancellation would allow the institution 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.”

No further elaboration was provided as to how the awards ceremony cancellation for one of the US’s most decorated actors and the “focus on its core mission” are in any way connected.

Trump has now celebrated the snub, writing on Truth Social: “Our great West Point (getting greater all the time!) has smartly cancelled the Award Ceremony for actor Tom Hanks. 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. Watch their DEAD RATINGS SURGE!"

West Point has become a focal point of the White House’s continued crusade to purge the nation of everything “woke”. Indeed, the Trump administration has continued to push to eliminate diversity programs throughout government, and earlier this year, West Point disbanded several cadet clubs centered on ethnicity, gender, race and sexuality.

In March, Trump signed an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which accused the Smithsonian of coming under the influence of a “divisive, race-centered ideology” and called upon it to “remove improper ideology” from its museums.

Last month, we also reported how Trump had unveiled the slate of stars who will be honoured at the 48th Kennedy Center Honors later this year. They include rockers Kiss, Rocky actor Sylvester Stallone and ‘I Will Survive’ singer Gloria Gaynor. Trump stated that he “turned down plenty” of candidates for the honours list because of their politics: “They were too woke."

It was reported that Tom Cruise declined the lifetime achievement award.

Last year’s recipient of the Sylvanus Thayer Award was former President Barack Obama.

As for Hanks, he has already been inducted as an honorary member to the US Army’s Ranger Hall of Fame and, in 2016, the actor received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.