Trump calls for US$1.5 trillion in military spending, citing ‘dangerous times’
US president wants to build a ‘Dream Military’ and increase the US defence budget by more than half next year
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday proposed setting US military spending at US$1.5 trillion in 2027, citing “troubled and dangerous times”.
Trump called for the massive surge in spending days after he ordered a US military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and spirit him out of the country to face drug trafficking charges in the United States. US forces continue to mass in the Caribbean Sea.
The 2026 military budget was set at US$901 billion. The United States was already by far the world’s biggest military spender, and a hike to US$1.5 trillion would push Washington’s financial outlay on its armed forces even farther ahead of its rivals China and Russia, though it could also spark an arms race with such countries.
Trump in recent days has also called for taking over the Danish territory of Greenland for national security reasons and has suggested he’s open to carrying out military operations in Colombia. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ominously warned that long-time adversary Cuba “is in trouble”.
“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 said in a posting on Truth Social announcing his proposal.