US President Donald Trump delivered a meandering address to an unprecedented gathering of the country’s top military leaders, railing against his predecessor, celebrating tariffs and floating the idea of using American cities as a training ground for the military as he painted a picture of the U.S. under attack “from within.”
Mr Trump in recent months has lambasted blue cities and states as hotbeds of crime, but the speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico on Tuesday morning marked the first time he publicly directed military leaders to be “a major part” of fighting a “war from within” in cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.
“We’ve brought back the fundamental principle that defending the homeland is the military’s first and most important priority. That’s what it is,” Mr Trump said. “It is only in recent decades that politicians somehow come to believe that our job is to police the far reaches of Kenya and Somalia, while America is under invasion from within.”
The US President spoke for more than an hour to a largely silent room at the military base about 30 miles south of Washington, where Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had summoned generals and admirals from across the globe. Mr Trump, who draws energy off of instantaneous feedback, appeared to speak more slowly than usual and in a monotone, seemingly affected by a largely mum audience.
One man in a naval uniform took notes during the address, according to pool reports. Rows of other officers sat expressionless.
The military follows strict customs and courtesies, which include showing deference and respect to the commander in chief and refraining from showing approval or disapproval of political statements. On Tuesday, laughter occasionally followed a joke, but Mr Trump’s attacks on former president Joe Biden were met with silence and his efforts to elicit a call-and-response in support of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, fell flat, according to pool reports.
“I was told that, ‘Sir, you won’t hear a murmur in the room,’” Mr Trump continued. “I said we had to loosen these guys up a little bit.”
Flying, lodging and transporting all the military leaders from as far away as Japan, the Middle East and Europe is likely to cost millions of dollars, according to two former officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue and estimated based on past government travel experience.
Mr Trump, speaking to reporters before his arrival at the base, acknowledged the gathering was costly but said it was worth it for a “great spiritizing.”
The event was organised by Mr Hegseth’s team, which did not initially invite Mr Trump. The president hinted at his frustrations at the defence secretary during his address.
“I thought, great speech. I don’t want him to get so good, I hate that, you know?” Mr Trump said.
“I hate it. I almost fired him,” Mr Trump continued. “I said, ‘You can’t, I don’t want to go on after that.’”
For much of the address, Mr Trump appeared unusually low-energy and gave little indication that he was following a teleprompter. He leaped between disparate topics, including many that had little relevance to the duties of the military. At one point, he discussed how he relegated the word “tariff” from his favourite word to his fifth-favourite word after receiving criticism for not preferring words such as “God” and “wife.” His speech included attacks on Biden and people he described as “radical left lunatics,” a break from the tradition of avoiding partisan politics in military settings.
He also said he was exploring the use of battleships, which are no longer in use by modern navies.
“Some people would say, ‘No, that’s old technology,’” Mr Trump said. “I don’t think it’s old technology when you look at those guns. But it’s something we’re actually considering, the concept of battleship, nice six-inch side solid steel, not aluminium.”
Even one of Mr Trump’s most loyal allies outside the White House remarked that he appeared exhausted during the speech. “The president looks tired, I think,” said Steve Bannon, a former top Trump adviser, on his daily talk show popular with Mr Trump’s MAGA base.
Mr Bannon said Mr Trump also seemed fatigued during Monday’s press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – an observation he attributed to Mr Trump’s work ethic and “the weight of the world’s on his shoulders.”
Mr Trump discussed what he described as the “two n-words” during a rambling aside about nuclear weapons.
“I moved a submarine or two, I won’t say about the two, over to the coast of Russia just to be careful, because we can’t let people throw around that word,” Mr Trump said. “I call it the n-word. There are two n-words, and you can’t use either of them.”
He stressed that the military would no longer be a place for “political correctness” and floated that Canada could become a part of the United States.
Mr Trump spoke to a room that included military leaders concerned about his administration’s defence strategy, as Mr Hegseth reorders military priorities to focus on perceived threats to the homeland, narrowing U.S. competition with China and downplaying America’s role in Europe and Africa, The Washington Post previously reported.
As Mr Trump wrapped up his address, some officers stood and lightly applauded. Others remained seated.
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Natalie Allison contributed to this report.
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