Yesterday, as President Donald Trump accepted the Republican Party’s nomination for a second term he promised to “maintain and expand America’s unrivaled military strength,” while ensuring its allies “pay their fair share” of their own defenses.
His promise follows the release on Sunday of a 50-point second-term agenda on Sunday which vows to maintain U.S. global military might and “wipe out” terrorist groups overseas, while also putting a stop to America’s participation in “endless wars.”
Trump has made veterans and national security key points of his presidency and his campaign. Rather than presenting a new Republican Party Platform at this convention, Trump and the GOP decided to use the 50-point agenda to reaffirm much of the 2016 Party Platform.
As noted by Military Times (MT), the 2016 platform promised to boost military funding, expanding health care options for veterans, and strongly opposed “social experimentation” by the Pentagon on issues like transgender enlistment. Trump is now doubling down on of all that.
Trump’s new second-term promises include plans to “launch Space Force,” the new independent military branch established by Trump last December. MT notes that Trump also unveiled plans to establish a “permanent manned presence on the Moon and send the first manned mission to Mars.”
It is still unclear though, how the military Space Force would be involved in those plans.
The new agenda also vows to improve U.S. military cybersecurity and missile defense systems and mentions an unspecified plan to “wipe out global terrorists who threaten to harm Americans.”
And it commits to “protect our veterans and provide world-class healthcare and services.” This includes giving veterans more opportunities to use private-sector medical options beyond those services provided by the Veterans Administration.
Last week, during the Democrat’s virtual convention, notes MT, Joe Biden, and “Democratic leaders decried Trump as an erratic leader who has been soft on foreign dictators, adversarial towards allies and callous about the impact of his decisions on military families.”
Last night Trump countered the Democrats in his acceptance speech, as quoted by MT, by saying:
America is safer now than four years ago. But Joe Biden would return us to a weak, dangerous past … President Trump’s strength has kept us out of war. Joe Biden won’t stand up for America.
We will have strong borders, strike down terrorists who threaten our people, and keep America out of endless and costly foreign wars.
“This November, we must turn the page forever on this failed political class,” Trump said of the Biden camp. “Together, we will write the next chapter of the great American story.”
