WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 — U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a 1.5-trillion-U.S.-dollar military budget for 2027 on social media on Wednesday, a sharp increase from 2026’s 901 billion dollars, fueling concerns about the potential eruption of wars.
“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 post on Truth Social.
“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. Trump also claimed that the “tremendous income” brought in by tariffs would make the new figure possible.
“That’s not a peacekeeping budget. It’s a war budget, a big war budget,” U.S. journalist and political commentator Tucker Carlson said in his latest show. “Obviously, that’s the kind of budget that a country that anticipates a global or regional war has for its military.”
“I think it’s fair to expect and all the signs suggest that we’re going to have a big war soon,” Carlson said. “Hope it doesn’t happen, but obviously we’re moving in that direction toward a world war.” Trump’s announcement came just a few days after the U.S. raid on Venezuela, capturing the South American country’s president Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
In mid-December, the U.S. Senate approved a House-passed 901-billion-dollar defense policy bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, which was quickly signed by Trump. Trump’s latest proposal will also need congressional approval.
The United States has spent far more on its military than any other country in recent years, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of global military expenditures.
The United States remains by far the largest military spender in the world, with an expenditure of 997 billion dollars in 2024, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
In 2024, the 39 U.S. companies listed in the SIPRI Top 100 recorded combined arms revenues of 334 billion dollars, up 3.8 percent year on year and accounting for nearly half of the Top 100 total, according to a recent SIPRI report. The report also noted that 30 of the 39 U.S. firms recorded growth in arms revenues. (Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
