Hollywood icon Tom Hanks is facing unexpected fallout after the West Point Association of Graduates abruptly canceled a ceremony that was set to honor the actor later this month.
The cancellation of the event, where Hanks was supposed to receive one of the Academy’s most prestigious awards, has raised questions about whether his controversial portrayal of a Trump supporter on “Saturday Night Live” played a role in the decision.
Hanks, beloved for his work in military-themed films like “Saving Private Ryan” and “Forrest Gump,” was scheduled to be honored with the Sylvanus Thayer Award, which recognizes non-graduates who embody the motto “Duty, Honor, Country.”
But according to reports, the ceremony set for September 25 will no longer take place.
The West Point alumni association has canceled an awards ceremony for Tom Hanks that was scheduled for this month.
It was an award for exemplifying "Duty, Honor, and Country."
They say the reason is that they want to focus on their core mission.
Things that make you go, Hmmm. pic.twitter.com/ZYSPiePaGh
— David Joe May (@TheGrayRider) September 7, 2025
Retired Army Col. Mark Bieger, president and CEO of the alumni group, confirmed the cancellation in an email to members.
He wrote that the decision “allows the Academy 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.”
Hanks had publicly celebrated the honor when it was announced in June.
West Point just canceled an awards ceremony honoring Tom Hanks. The military has no reason to honor him. He hasn’t earned it. Gary Sinise would be a much better recipient of that honor. He has advocated 100x more for Vets than Hanks ever did. pic.twitter.com/aFhuSuG5O0
— 𝕍𝕚𝕠𝕝𝕒 𝕃𝕖𝕚𝕘𝕙 𝔹𝕝𝕦𝕖𝕤 (@ViolaLeighBlues) September 6, 2025
Calling the recognition “simply astounding,” the actor added, “West Point’s legacy of leadership, character, and service to the nation is a powerful example for all Americans.”
“To be recognized by an institution whose graduates have shaped our country’s history through selfless service is both humbling and meaningful,” Hanks reportedly said.
Robert A. McDonald, chairman of the association’s board, praised Hanks at the time for doing “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.”
Yet the cancellation has sparked speculation about whether West Point’s alumni leadership bowed to concerns over Hanks’ controversial “Doug” character on Saturday Night Live.
For its 50 year anniversary special, SNL had Tom Hanks play a racist Trump supporter afraid to shake a black man’s hand. Fun fact: Trump’s 2024 election win was the LEAST racially divisive American election since 1964. pic.twitter.com/0gdocaaktH
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) February 17, 2025
In a widely discussed sketch, Hanks played a Trump supporter wearing an eagle t-shirt and the iconic red MAGA cap.
The character, presented in a Black Jeopardy segment, spoke with a Southern drawl, praised church attendance, and clashed awkwardly with Kenan Thompson’s host character in a handshake moment that critics saw as racially charged.
Hanks’ character later quipped about starting a spinoff called “White Jeopardy,” a line that fueled outrage among conservatives who accused the sketch of mocking Trump voters as bigots.
Clay Travis, founder of Outkick, blasted the bit at the time, tweeting, “For its 50 year anniversary special, SNL had Tom Hanks play a racist Trump supporter afraid to shake a black man’s hand.”
He added, “Fun fact: Trump’s 2024 election win was the LEAST racially divisive American election since 1964.”
The MAGA caricature, which first appeared on SNL in 2016, became a cultural flashpoint.
The premise of the segment was that Hanks’ character knew just as much about Black culture as the other contestants but ultimately revealed prejudice during the “lives that matter” category.
Conservatives accused the sketch of going too far, particularly because Hanks has a long history of criticizing President Donald Trump.
Hanks has made his opposition to Trump clear, telling CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in 2024 that the president’s second White House term showed America’s “journey to a more perfect union has missteps in it.”
“I think there’s always reason to be worried about the short term,” he remarked in response to Amanpour questioning if he had concerns about the nation’s “commitment to democracy and freedom” ahead of the election.
Tom Hanks is a jackass! – CNN’s Amanpour to Tom Hanks: Do You Worry About United States if Trump Is Reelected? pic.twitter.com/GLZ0ed02EF
— Alexandra Datig | Front Page Index 🇺🇸 (@alexdatig) June 8, 2024
“Our Constitution says, ‘We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union,’ — that journey to a more perfect union has missteps in it,” he commented.
“Over the long term, however, we inevitably made progress towards, I think, that more perfect union,” Hanks continued. “And how does it come about?”
“It comes about not because of somebody’s narrative of who was right, or who was a victim or not,” he rambled.
Hanks claimed that the perfect union comes from “slow melding of the truth” into the “practical life that we end up living,” saying that it all boils down to carrying out acts of kindness for your neighbors.
“I will always have faith that the United States of America, and the Western societies that have adopted more or less the same sort of democracy, cannot help but turn towards what is right,” he told Amanpour.