My administration will not even consider renaming military installations: Trump

Amid calls by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the removal of 11 Confederate statues in Washington, President Donald Trump ruled out any change to US military bases named after Civil War Confederate leaders who belonged to the south and widely supported slavery.

Also Read: Statue of Christopher Columbus in US toppled, thrown in lake

"These monumental and very powerful bases have become part of a great American Heritage, and history of winning, victory, and freedom," Trump said. The calls for change come as large scale protests have erupted in the United States after the killing of African-American Geroge Floyd in Minneapolis by a white policeman.

Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the demand for change  was  an "absolute non-starter." Ten military bases in the US including Fort Bragg, Fort Hood in Texas, and Fort Benning in Georgia are in the spotlight of protesters.

"My administration will not even consider renaming these magnificent and fabled military installations. Our history as the greatest nation in the world will not be tampered with," Trump said, adding,"respect our military."

The statue of explorer Christopher Columbus was beheaded in Boston on Wednesday over anti-racism protests. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi waded into the debate saying: "Monuments to men who advocated cruelty and barbarism to achieve such a plainly racist end are a grotesque affront to these ideals" of American democracy and freedom, the top Democrat in Congress wrote to a bipartisan committee.

"Their statues pay homage to hate, not heritage," the US House Speaker said, adding,"They must be removed."