Hanks, in the same announcement, called it \u201chumbling and meaningful\u201d to be recognized by the institution. Other recipients have included presidents, defense secretaries, diplomats, senators and journalists.<\/p>\n
But the planned celebration appears to have run headlong into Trump-era politics.<\/p>\n
![\"President](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/c669cdf3d5b34bbbac5497d2ab6cfc1b.jpeg\"\/)
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President Joe Biden, with actor Tom Hanks and his wife, the actress and musician Rita Wilson, at the White House in 2023. – (Demetrius Freeman\/The Washington Post)<\/p>\n
In 2020, Hanks participated in a campaign fundraiser with Joe Biden, who went on to defeat Donald Trump for the presidency that year in an election marred by Trump\u2019s baseless claims of election fraud. Months later, after a pro-Trump mob smashed its way into Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, in a failed attempt to stop the certification of Biden\u2019s victory, Hanks hosted a televised event called \u201cCelebrating America\u201d that was organized by the Biden Inaugural Committee. Hanks noted then that the United States had seen \u201cdeep divisions and a troubling rancor\u201d over recent years.<\/p>\n
Hanks assisted Biden again one year into his presidency, narrating a video touting the value of perseverance as the U.S. economy rallied and the covid-19 pandemic subsided. \u201cWe are stronger than we were a year ago today,\u201d Hanks said then.<\/p>\n
Hanks received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his acting and advocacy from President Barack Obama in 2016. He also has poked fun at Trump supporters while portraying one in \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d skits, once in 2016 and again in 2025.<\/p>\n
The award ceremony\u2019s cancellation follows a number of changes at West Point, long considered one of the most prestigious universities in the country, and other military services academies since Trump\u2019s return to power.<\/p>\n
In January, Trump issued an executive order calling for a rollback of programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the armed forces, saying leaders, curriculums and instructors at all of the U.S. service academies should be scrutinized. Other changes followed, including the cancellation of some classes and the disbanding of numerous \u201caffinity groups\u201d for cadets, such as the National Society of Black Engineers and Latin Cultural Club.<\/p>\n
More recently, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll directed West Point to revoke the appointment of Jen Easterly, a cybersecurity expert and West Point graduate who had served in the presidential administrations of Biden and George W. Bush, a Republican whom Trump has attacked<\/a> in the past.<\/p>\n Easterly\u2019s dismissal from the school\u2019s social sciences department followed complaints from far-right activist Laura Loomer, an unofficial adviser to Trump who has exhibited an unusual level of influence<\/a> on personnel matters in the president\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n