As President of the United States from 1913 to 1921, Wilson implemented racist policies such as reassignment of federal government workers. Wilson also served as President of Princeton in the early 1900s and black students blocked from applying.
“The trustees concluded that Woodrow Wilson’s racist thinking and policies make him an inappropriate namesake for a school or university whose academics, students, and alumni must firmly oppose racism in all its forms,” said Christopher L. Eisgruber, president from Princeton. in a sentence Saturday.
Trump’s condemnation of the Princeton decision follows his recent defense of American historical figures whose place in society is being reevaluated. The president signed an executive order last week directed at protect monuments and statues, vowing to crack down on protesters tearing down monuments of Confederate leaders and former US presidents.
TO a rally with university students last weekTrump denounced what he called the “totalitarian” left for wanting to tear down monuments to slave owners and Confederate figures.
“They hate our history, they hate our values, and they hate everything we value as Americans,” said the president in Phoenix. “Our country did not grow very well with them. It grew great with you and your thought process and your ideology. The left-wing mafia is trying to demolish our inheritance, in order to replace it with a new oppressive regime that only they control. “
Former First Lady Michelle Obama, a prominent Princeton graduate, hit a different note when addressing the name change in a tweet Monday afternoon.
“I am glad to see my alma mater make this change, and even more proud of the students who have been advocating for this type of change on campus for years,” Obama wrote. “Let’s continue to look for ways to be more inclusive for all students, at Princeton and in every school in the country.”
Trump’s tweeted reference to John Wayne is a reaction to a movement by California Democrats to remove actor name from an Orange County airport. Local politicians say Wayne should not be commemorated by his comments in favor of white supremacy in a 1971 Playboy interview.
