Donald Trump, Just Another ZOG American Empire Shitstain
politico.com
For months, Donald Trump has blasted Congress for excessive defense spending. Not anymore.
For months, Donald Trump has blasted Congress for excessive defense spending, calling for buying fewer of the newest fighter jets and scaling back weapons purchases pushed by “special interests."
But on Wednesday, he was singing from the traditional GOP national security hymnal, calling for billions of additional dollars for a bigger Army and Marine Corps, missile defense systems and more ships and fighter jets. He also advocated an end to mandatory budget caps — the same ones he used to criticize as too loose.
It is the latest sign that a candidate who has alienated many bedrock Republican voters is trying to steer toward a more mainstream message that can resonate with party stalwarts and independent voters concerned about an erosion of American security and credibility on the world stage.
While many of Trump’s proposals would be difficult, if not impossible, to execute, the blueprint — drawn heavily from the conservative Heritage Foundation that provided much of the intellectual underpinning of Ronald Reagan’s arms buildup in the 1980s — signals he is hewing much closer to Republican orthodoxy on military issues as he enters the final stretch of the White House race.
“I am one of the original Never Trumpers — and unreconstructed in that regard — but taking the speech on its face you could put my name on it almost,” said Thomas Donnelly, co-director of the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. “This is the most like a traditional conservative Republican I can remember Donald Trump sounding, especially on national security and defense."
Trump’s push for more military spending, outlined in a Philadelphia speech ahead of a “commander in chief” forum Wednesday evening, is striking in part because of his previous statements on defense and foreign policy — from flippant and ill-informed comments about the nuclear arsenal to questioning the continued relevance of the NATO alliance — that have left Republican defense hawks shaking their heads.
His national security pronouncements have led a number of high-profile Republican defense and foreign policy experts and former officials to instead back his opponent, Hillary Clinton.
In his speech, however, Trump, reading from a teleprompter, struck a decidedly different tone. And he reversed course on a several fronts.
For example, he said he would ask his generals for a plan within 30 days to defeat and destroy the Islamic State. Previously he said he knew more than the generals about ISIL.
He also pledged to end the across-the-board budget cuts known as sequester that are opposed by members of both parties.
"As soon as I take office, I will ask Congress to fully eliminate the defense sequester and will submit a new budget to rebuild our military," Trump said. "This will increase certainty in the defense community as to funding, and will allow military leaders to plan for our future defense needs."
But in 2013, Trump applauded the cuts — and even said they didn't go far enough to cut wasteful government spending.
Trump is also now calling for boosting the size of the active-duty Army to 540,000, up from the current 475,000. He proposes a Marine Corps of 36 battalions and 1,200 fighter aircraft, proposals both originating from The Heritage Foundation. He also proposed a 350-ship Navy, versus the current fleet that hovers under 280, an objective raised by the bipartisan National Defense Panel in 2014 — and was a common goal of Trump’s rivals in the Republican primary.
The Republican nominee’s proposals to boost the military budget also mirror much of what House and Senate Republicans are pressing for in the defense authorization and appropriations bills.
"To the extent he or anybody else agrees with me, I like that," quipped House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), who has not endorsed Trump. "What a lot of Americans have heard is a lot of name-calling and so forth, but Americans are very concerned about national security. They are anxious for serious, substantive answers to that challenges we face."
Trump's supporters characterized the speech as reflecting the candidate's evolving views.
“I think Donald Trump has gotten more and more concerned about the state of the United States and the status of the United States in the world,” Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), a chief adviser to Trump, told POLITICO. “And that he’s reached a decision that we need a stronger military. When he makes those decisions, he laid out some explicit and significant improvements and strengthening of the Defense Department.”
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