President Donald Trump called on Wednesday for the United States to pass a $1.5 trillion military budget for 2027 to build the “Dream Military.” While the budget would mark a roughly 50% increase over this year’s defense budget, Trump suggested that tariffs would help fund the higher military budget.
“After long and difficult negotiations with Senators, Congressmen, Secretaries, and other Political Representatives, I have determined that, for the Good of our Country, especially in these very troubled and dangerous times, our Military Budget for the year 2027 should not be $1 Trillion Dollars, but rather $1.5 Trillion Dollars,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social statement on Wednesday. “This will allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ that we have long been entitled to and, more importantly, that will keep us SAFE and SECURE, regardless of foe.”
Trump explained that he would keep the military budget for 2027 at the “$1 Trillion Dollar number” if it “weren’t for the tremendous numbers” generated by the administration’s tariffs on other countries, including countries that previously “ripped off” the United States.
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The president added, “Because of Tariffs, and the tremendous Income that they bring, amounts being generated, that would have been unthinkable in the past (especially just one year ago during the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, the Worst President in the History of our Country!), we are able to easily hit the $1.5 Trillion Dollar number while, at the same time, producing an unparalleled Military Force, and having the ability to, at the same time, pay down Debt, and likewise, pay a substantial Dividend to moderate income Patriots within our Country!”
According to Fox News, the U.S. defense budget for 2026 is expected to surpass $1 trillion for the first time in American history due to Congress passing a $150 billion reconciliation bill and the $900 billion defense spending bill that the president signed into law in December.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget noted that Trump’s proposal of a $1.5 trillion defense budget would increase military spending by roughly $5 trillion from 2027 to 2035 and would add approximately $5.8 trillion to the national debt after interest is included. On the other hand, the committee cited a recent estimate from the Congressional Budget Office, which estimated that current tariffs could raise an additional $2.5 to $3 trillion of revenue.
