Trump’s Proposed Military Budget of $1.5 Trillion Raises Eyebrows

Last year, the Republicans in agreement with President Trump raised the military budget by $175 billion against the criticism of some prominent conservatives who wanted the administration to cut spending in the defense sector. Now President Trump wants to inflate the military budget by a whopping 50%, making it $1.5 trillion for 2027. Conservatives have always wanted a strong military for national defense. But does this level of spending amount to going overboard?

Earlier this month, President Trump posted on Truth Social that he wants the 2027 military budget to be $1.5 trillion instead of $1 trillion so that we could have the “dream military” to keep us safe and secure. In his post, Trump stated that he has arrived at this defense budget proposal after consulting with Congressional members, secretaries, and other political representatives. He also went on to justify his proposed raise in the Pentagon budget by citing his policy of tariffs which he credited with bringing in “tremendous income.”

Trump’s proposed raise in the military budget by some $600 billion against the current defense budget of $900 billion was met with a mixed response by critics and analysts. YouTube commentator Ken Cao, a critic of Chinese government and policies, called it a winning move by Trump that can defeat China decisively not only on the military front but also by eroding the international confidence in Chinese strength and stability.

Writing for The Alpena News (January 14), Rich Lowry hailed Trump’s proposed defense budget for 2027 as exactly the thing we need to do and called it a declaration of epic significance. Suggesting some important ways for the military to use it, Lowry concluded his article by stating:

Trump’s taste for gilding everything can be over the top. It’d be a national service, though, if he manages to make the U.S. defense budget golden.

But many conservative and independent commentators and analysts were not amused with Trump’s proposed budget for the military. Tucker Carlson asked why would Trump like such a raise in the military budget and opined that such a jump indicates preparation plans for a regional or global war.

Clint Russell, host of the Liberty Lockdown podcast, posted a clip of Carlson’s show on his own X page and wrote that he believes Carlson is right adding that such level of spending on the military is madness that needs to stop.

President Trump made ending wars a key promise of his presidential campaign but has largely failed to end existing wars while also creating rhetoric of potential war through his actions in the Middle East, Venezuela, and lately over Greenland. In this context, his proposal to jack up the military budget is raising eyebrows within the conservative base. Former Congressman Ron Paul who hosts a podcast criticized Trump’s proposed military budget and said that it amounts to punishing people who will pay for this kind of crony capitalism, pushing the country further into debt.

Independent investigative journalist Elizabeth Lane posted a clip of her interview with former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou to her X page wherein he is seen calling it corruption by the government. Lane reminded that Pentagon has failed its audit eight years in a row. She wrote:

President Trump calls it his “dream military.” But whose dream is this, and why are American taxpayers forced to pay for it?