Trump Makes Missile Defense Shield a Big Campaign Issue for 2024

AMAC Exclusive – By Ben Solis

As the war in Ukraine enters its second year and other authoritarian states like China and Iran grow more aggressive on the world stage, the need for defense system upgrades – particularly in the realm of missile defense – is becoming more urgent. Yet even in the face of greater threats, President Joe Biden’s defense priorities appear increasingly bogged down by concerns about “racial justice” and “climate change.”

The devastation wrought by Russia in its unprovoked attack on Ukraine has provided more clear evidence of the importance of missile defense technology in modern warfare. Over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, for example, Russia launched a barrage of more than 80 Iranian-made “suicide drones” on Kyiv. In what Ukrainian generals called an “unprecedented success,” every drone was shot down by the NASAM air defense systems from the United States that arrived in the country last November – the same missile defense technology that guards Washington, D.C. The NASAM batteries likely saved dozens of lives.

But while Iranian Shaheed-136 drones are largely ineffectual, other more advanced technology has devastated Ukraine. Late last month, a Russian hypersonic missile leveled a nine-story building in Dnipro, killing 46 and injuring 80. Random attacks have been commonplace throughout the war, and thousands of families have had their homes and lives destroyed by Russian attacks.

Communist China has also been at the forefront of hypersonic missile technology, alarming Western military experts. Just this week, a Russian warship armed with next-generation hypersonic missiles arrived off the coast of South Africa to conduct joint drills with the Chinese military.

President Donald Trump recognized early on the danger of what was then an emerging technology in hypersonic missiles and how U.S. adversaries would leverage the weapon to challenge U.S. power around the world. Accordingly, beginning in 2018, Trump laid the foundations for what would become the Space Force, an initiative comparable to President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative.

Trump, like Reagan, recognized how catastrophic another global war in the nuclear age would be, and that the best deterrent to such an outcome was bolstering the country’s military strength, in particular its missile defense systems. President Reagan dubbed this “peace through strength” – a mantra embraced by President Trump as well. While Trump dramatically increased military funding, it resulted in less, not more conflict. Indeed, President Trump was the only American president of the 21st century not to embroil the country in any new foreign wars.

As part of his bid for the presidency in 2024, Trump has called for another doubling down on missile defense technology. Informed by what has transpired in Ukraine, Trump said in a video release that the country needs a new missile defense shield. “World War Three would be catastrophic unlike any other. It would make World War One and World War Two like tiny battles,” he said.

“We are going to work to build a state-of-the-art next-generation missile defense shield,” Trump continued, one that creates an “impenetrable dome” around the United States. Trump referenced Israel’s Iron Dome system, which was once thought an impossible technological goal, as a proof that such a system can be built. “Just as I rebuilt our military, especially our nuclear capabilities, I will build the shield to defend America from missile attack,” Trump promised.

Unfortunately, President Biden does not share Trump’s commitment to missile defense programs, and he has reversed much of the progress seen under his predecessor. This tragic story begins with Biden’s failure to fund the formation of a Space National Guard – a vital part of the nation’s missile defense system ordered under President Trump.

Biden and his Defense Department have also consistently failed to request funding for critical elements of the nation’s protective shield, including bases in Alaska, spaced-based radars, interceptor tests, and even mobile defense systems for American cities. Biden did not even provide sufficient funding for the procurement of current infrastructure where aged missiles, deployed in 2004, have been left untested and are at risk of failing during a potential attack.

Meanwhile, Biden has found space in his defense budgets for “woke” programming like mandated training for troops on “diversity, equity, and inclusion” and even climate change alarmism. The U.S. is, for example, spending billions to make military vehicles “climate friendly.” Yet every American with common sense realizes that Chinese or North Korean missiles are more likely to annihilate New York or Los Angeles than supposed rising ocean levels.

Even as the topline number for Biden’s military budgets continues to grow, the glaring misallocation of taxpayer dollars becomes more obvious. Radical left ideology, not an interest in the defense of the United States, is driving the cuts, and should be immediately corrected for the security of the country.

Ben Solis is the pen name of an international affairs journalist, historian, and researcher.