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Donald Trump’s remarks at the National Guard Association’s conference were a bit of a mess. The Republican’s principal goal seemed to be blaming Vice President Kamala Harris for America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan three years ago, which was bizarre given that (a) it wasn’t Harris’ call; (b) Trump’s the one who negotiated the withdrawal agreement; and (c) Trump’s own White House national security adviser said Trump bears some responsibility for what transpired.
But this wasn’t the only problem.
In the same remarks, the GOP nominee lied about U.S. ammunition stockpiles. He falsely claimed that the Biden administration abandoned $85 billion worth of equipment in Afghanistan. He insisted that no American servicemembers were killed in Afghanistan in the 18 months that preceded the end of the war, which wasn’t even close to being true.
But of particular interest was Trump’s rhetoric about his related policy goals. The Hill reported:
Former President Trump said he would create a national guard for the Space Force and build an “Iron Dome” in the U.S. as he laid out his military plans during a Monday address. Trump, speaking Monday at a National Guard Association of the U.S. conference in Detroit, touted the creation of the Space Force, the sixth branch of the U.S. military. It was established in 2019 to protect U.S. assets in space from threats from Russia and China.
“One of my proudest achievements in my first term was to create Space Force, the first new branch of the armed forces in over 70 years; it’s a big deal,” he said. “Now that Space Force is up and running, I agree with your leadership — you want this very badly — but I agree that the time has come to create a Space National Guard as the primary combat reserve of the U.S. Space Force.”
Trump’s incessant focus on a domestic “Iron Dome” — a subject he talks about quite a bit — continues to be strange. The whole point of an “Iron Dome” is to protect against short-range missiles, and unless the Republican is worried about Canada or Mexico launching a surprise attack, the United States should probably focus on other national security priorities.
Indeed, the former president has never explained why, exactly, he’s so determined to build a domestic “Iron Dome,” though I have a hunch it’s because he likes the words “iron” and “dome.”
Similarly, while it’s true the GOP candidate likes to boast about the creation of the Space Force, Trump hasn’t gotten around to articulating any kind of vision for the branch, reinforcing concerns that he championed the move because he thought it sounded cool.
It’s against this backdrop that he now also wants a Space National Guard — again, for reasons he did not explain.
If this was Trump’s idea of a substantive speech, it was a failure.