(CNSNews.com) - "We have the greatest military by far. We’ve totally rebuilt our military," President Donald Trump said at his most recent campaign rally in Las Vegas last Friday.
Apparently, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg agrees.
Bloomberg, speaking at the CBS-hosted debate in South Carolina last night, said he's "convinced...that the military today is better prepared than they've been in an awful long time, and that the monies they are spending on the war weapons we need for the next war and not for the last (war) are a common mistake that they're not making now. They're doing a good job," Bloomberg said.
Bloomberg was responding to the question, "Would you pull all troops out of the Middle East?"
"No," he said in his full response:
You want to cut it back as much as you can, but I think we learned something from 9/11. People plan things overseas and execute them here. We have to be able to stop terrorism. And there's no guarantees that you're going to be able to do it, but we have to have some troops in places where terrorists congregate. And to not do so is just irresponsible.
We shouldn't be fighting wars that we can't win. We should go to war only as a last resort, nobody argues with that. But this is a dangerous world. And if we haven't learned that after 9/11, I don't know what's going to teach us what to do.
We have to do something, and I think the budget that we -- The things that I've seen recently convinced me that the military today is better prepared than they've been in an awful long time and that the monies they are spending on the war weapons we need for the next war and not for the last (war) are a common mistake that they're not making now. They're doing a good job.
President Trump told his Feb. 10 rally in New Hampshire that the U.S. military was "totally depleted" when he took office. "Now it has all brand new jets. It’s got brand new missiles and rockets and everything you can imagine. And if it hasn’t been shipped yet, it’s going to be shipped soon."
Trump told his Jan. 30 rally in Iowa that the "brand new" military equipment "was all built in the USA."
A more thorough explanation is found in the Trump administration's Fiscal Year 2021 budget request of $740.5 billion for national defense, a $0.8 billion increase above the 2020 enacted level.
According to the White House budget blueprint, rejected on arrival in the Democrat-led House:
-- The Budget prioritizes funding for programs that would deliver warfighting advantages against China and Russia and sustains efforts over the last three years to focus defense investments in modernization, lethality, and innovation that provide the Nation’s troops a competitive advantage over all adversaries.
-- The Budget prioritizes investments in U.S. air, sea, land, space, and cyber capabilities that would support operations to ensure military superiority. Critical investments include procuring next generation fighter aircraft and new battle force ships, modernizing Army armored brigade combat teams, and fully funding recapitalization of the strategic ballistic missile submarine fleet.
-- The Budget also assesses modifications to existing missile defense capabilities to defend the U.S. homeland, providing additional coverage on a faster timeline.
-- The Budget supports the growth of the recently established United States Space Force, the sixth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, to ensure that the United States can protect and defend America’s national interests in space.
-- The Budget proposes an additional pay raise for U.S. troops.
"Ultimately, the Budget reflects the President’s commitment to ensure America’s military remains second to none, both today and into the future," Trump's blueprint says.