The Trump campaign did not respond to whether they would ban Confederate flags at the president’s rallies, which are scheduled to resume next week in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Some people have sported the stars and bars on t-shirts and flags at past rallies. The Trump campaign also did not respond to Biden’s statement, though the president weighed in on Twitter earlier this week.

“[M]y Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations,” he wrote, adding that “[o]ur history as the Greatest Nation in the World will not be tampered with.”

It is just the latest instance of Biden and Trump taking starkly different approaches in response to the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer and protests over racism and police brutality across the country.

Trump has amplfied his “law and order” message, focusing on rioting that's occurred during the unrest and betting that his largely white base can still put him over the top in November. Biden has expressed solidarity with the protestors and tried to appeal to some white voters’ consciences with a call for “an era of action to reverse systemic racism.”

Trump administration officials, from Attorney General Bill Barr to director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow, have said this past week that they do not believe there is systemic racism in policing, casting the killing of Floyd as a case of a few "bad apples" in law enforcement. Biden's positioning has also drawn scorn from some police groups.

The national debate over racism in 2020 has led to partisan fights around the country about the legacy of the 1861 southern rebellion to maintain slavery. A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll this week showed a country divided, with 44 percent of Americans believing the Confederate flag is a "symbol of Southern pride" and that the statues ought to stay standing.

The renaming proposal that Biden is supporting passed the Senate Armed Services committee with bipartisan support on Wednesday as part of a larger defense appropriations bill. It would require that any base, installation, facility, aircraft, ship, plane or type of equipment with a Confederate name on it be changed within three years. Though it's unclear whether it will clear the chamber, the measure has put at least a few Senate Republicans at odds with Trump.

Other Republicans including Sens. Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley — both said to have their eyes on the White House someday — sided with Trump. Offering an amendment to pull Warren's proposal out of the defense authorization bill, Hawley on Thursday called it an "effort at historical revisionism" and said, "It is time for our leaders to stop using their position here to divide us."

Other Republicans have tried to not to take a position. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who became a national figure in part because of her work to remove the Confederate symbol from the state flag in 2015, declined repeated requests for comment.

Retired four star Marine General John Kelly, who served as Trump's chief of staff, split from the president in supporting the renaming of the bases but didn't speak to the more sweeping amendment.

"In 2020 I think it’s time the potus, Congress and our Army take a hard look at renaming, and do it," he said in an email. "I would hope the new bases would not be renamed after politicians, but after Medal of Honor recipients or exceptional soldiers who have fallen in defense of our country — of which America’s Army has any number to choose from. I am confident that with leaders like Secretaries Esper, McCarthy and General Milley they can convince the powers that be that it is the right thing to do."

He added: "Interestingly most of the generals the bases are named after were mediocre to poor generals."

In a statement through a spokesperson, Warren welcomed Biden’s support of her amendment.

“Changing the names of our bases won’t erase the history of slavery and legacy of white supremacy in our country, but it’s long past time to stop honoring this ugly legacy,” she said. “Joe Biden will be a Commander-in-Chief who will keep our country safe and secure, not spend his time insisting that our bases be named for confederates who fought against our nation to preserve slavery.”

Republican and Democratic state legislators in Tennessee are fighting over eliminating Nathan Bedford Forrest Day, named after the Confederate General and early Ku Klux Klan general. The two parties in Congress are squabbling over the removal of the 11 Confederate statues in the Capitol, including the president and vice president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens, respectively.

Republicans have accused Democrats of trying to censor history as part of a campaign of political correctness, while Democrats contend it's about not placing slave-owning traitors in places of honor.

The fight has spilled out far beyond the political realm. HBO Max took down “Gone With The Wind” from its streaming service on Monday, which prompted some consumers to make it the top-selling movie on Amazon on Tuesday. Country group Lady Antebellum changed its name to Lady A. Clemson University is debating whether to rename its honors college, currently named after John C. Calhoun, one of the staunchest pro-slavery politicians in American history.

While Trump has dug in on preserving Confederate monuments and soldiers’ names on military bases, some Republicans have signaled they no longer have the appetite to defend the Southern heirlooms. The Republican Speaker of the House in Mississippi expressed support for a bipartisan push to do away with the state flag featuring the stars and bars.

Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota also told reporters that he voted for Warren’s amendment.

"I agree with the President that we don't want to forget our history,” he said. “But at the same time that doesn't mean that we should continue with those bases with the names of individuals who fought against our country. ... We should name bases after people that fought for the United States of America.”

Marianne LeVine contributed to this report