Today, we're having word salad: Trump's Remarks to U.S. Service Members in Anchorage, Alaska
Remarks by President Trump to U.S. Service Members | Anchorage, Alaska
NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENSE
Issued on: February 28, 2019
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
Anchorage, Alaska
9:50 A.M. AKST
THE PRESIDENT: Wow. Thank you very much. So, were coming in and were landing and I say, You know, I have a choice: I can stay on the plane and relax as we fuel up, right? As we fuel up. Or, I said, How good are they out there? Somebody looked at me and said, Theyre the best. Youre supposed to the best, right? Youre right on the front. (Applause.) I said, All right, so lets go. Put on the tie. Put on the shirt.
But I wanted to be with you. And its an honor to be with you, I have to tell you. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, right now, at ease. Lets have a little fun, right?
AUDIENCE: Hooah!
THE PRESIDENT: Well have a little fun. Listen to you. You are something.
Well, I want to thank General Tom Bussiere for the introduction, and done a really great job. Highly respected man. I know the ones that are highly respected and I know we have some others. But usually when you get to general, youre right up there. But hes done a fantastic job. And, General, thank you very much. Appreciate it very much for the introduction.
And also, I want to thank all of the folks with the NORAD. And when we talk NORAD, were talking about big stuff. I learned so much about NORAD so many years ago, studying different things. You know, I love I love this world.
And, actually, over here, my grandfather was up in Alaska for a long time. He was looking for gold. He was searching for gold. He didnt find it, but he started opening up little hotels for those looking for gold, and it worked out. But he was up in and maybe thats why Ive always had a very special place in my heart for Alaska.
And when election time came along, somehow the people of Alaska knew that and they voted very, very it wasnt even a little bit close. So I just really appreciated that always. And, you know, its a very special place.
And I dont know if some of the folks the military folks care about this, but the people of Alaska really care about it. I just approved, recently and almost one of my earlier acts in office, ANWR, which is one of the largest deposits anywhere in the world. And for many, many years theyve been trying to get it approved, since before Ronald Reagan. And they couldnt get it done.
And we were just talking to your great governor. He is doing a very special job. And he said, We really appreciate that you got that done. And we got some other things done for Alaska too.
But when you look at that, ANWR is one of if youre in the oil industry you know a lot about ANWR. One of the most important finds anywhere. They just couldnt do anything about it, but now we can. So thats going to be great.
But I also and I mentioned Mike Dunleavy. I just want to say he has been an incredible warrior. He ran an incredible campaign. He won easily. Hes not only one of the best governors in the United States; hes definitely the largest. Where is Mike? Look at that man. Hes all man. Look at him. Congratulations, Mike, and thank you for being here.
He heard I was going to stop, and he got on a plane and he was able to get here. And thats a great honor. Its always nice though when you endorse somebody, its always nice when they want to be there when you make a speech, right? And hes always there. Hes there anyway and hes done an incredible job for Alaska.
And I will tell you, in front of all of these great troops, Ill say: Mike, anytime you have a problem, you call me. You know that, okay? And well take care of it for Alaska. Right? You know that.
As you know, Im on my way back from Vietnam. I wanted to stop here to share my gratitude to every brave soldier, sailor, airman, Marine, Coast Guardsman, and National Guardsman who serves in the Land of the Midnight Sun. What a beautiful term. Its what it is, too.
Its great to be standing in this hangar with an F-22 Raptor, the mighty sound of American freedom. Thats pretty good stuff, huh? (Applause.) Thats pretty good stuff. Ill tell you, look at it. Even your fire engine looks pretty good, right? (Laughter.)
Well, the fact is, weve increased your budget from not too much to $700 billion. And then, from $700 billion, we went up to $716 billion. And I wont tell you this years surprise, but the generals are going to be very happy when they hear because its going up yet again, because we have no choice. You know, Im a cost cutter but we have no choice. Without a military, what do we have? We have to have a great military.
And you notice your equipment has been getting better and better, newer and newer? When I got in here, you were having jet fighters that were so old you know, you heard the story the grandfather flew some of the planes some of the bombers. The grandfather, then the son, then the grandchild is here with us now. And I dont like that. I dont like that. So weve ordered massive numbers of new planes and new everything.
Its just an honor to come by the joint base and be with you. I guess we call we say J-Bear, right? J-Bear. (Applause.) Thats what thats what we want to do J-Bear.
In 2017, our wonderful First Lady visited J-Bear and met with the children of deployed service members, and had a fantastic time. When she hear I was going to be here, she said, Say hello. And shes been a really fantastic First Lady. Our military families are a true national treasure.
And without all of the people backing you brave men and women, you know, it wouldnt work so well for you. Your life would be a lot more difficult. It wouldnt be the same. You all know that. Maybe we should give them a round of applause, right? Come on. (Applause.) Its true.
There are many incredible patriots to recognize here today, beginning with the outstanding Airmen of the 11th Air Force. Give yourselves a hand. (Applause.)
The Airmen of the 3rd Wing, and their Commander, Colonel Bob Davis. Bob, thank you. Thank you, Bob. Great. (Applause.) Is he doing a good job? Huh? Yes. Theyre all saying yes. (Laughter.)
The 673rd Air Base Wing and your Base Commander, Colonel Patricia Chank. (Applause.) Thank you, Patricia. Thank you very much.
The soldiers from U.S. Army Alaska, and their Commander, Major General Mark ONeil. Mark. Thank you, Mark. (Applause.)
And the paratroopers of the 4-25 Airborne Brigade Combat Team, the Spartan Brigade, and their Commander, Colonel Jason Jones. (Applause.) Colonel, thank you. Thank you, Jason.
Thank you as well to every warrior and thats what you are; youre warriors in the Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. Finally, I want to thank all of the members of the Alaska National Guard who defend our nation against missile attack, and their Adjutant General, Brigadier General Torrence Saks. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, General. As well as Brigadier General Darrin Slayten (applause) Darren thank you, Darren Commander of the 176th Wing Alaska Air National Guard. Great job.
The men and women who serve at J-Bear share one vital mission: to serve in our countrys Last Frontier as Americas first line of defense.
Since the Second World War, our intrepid service members in Alaska have proudly stood at the top cover for North America. You are a powerful warning to the world to never strike American soil. You are a warning that everybody knows about and nobody wants to play with.
Here with us today are paratroopers of the Spartan Brigade who wear the maroon beret. Where are they? Where are they? (Applause.) They look pretty good. Should I wear one of those things? Huh? Its good when its windy out, Ill tell you. Its good.
They recently returned from the Brigades third deployment to Afghanistan. And theyve seen a lot. Ive actually spoken to a couple, and I know how they feel. Its going on for 19 years. Made a lot of progress, but 19 years.
We just took over you know, you kept hearing it was 90 percent, 92 percent the caliphate in Syria. Now its 100 percent. We just took over. A hundred percent caliphate. That means the area of the land. We just have 100 percent, so thats good. We did that in a much shorter period of time than it was supposed to be. It was supposed to take I wont tell you what a certain general told me.
But I went and met a couple of other generals, and I said, How long do you think it can take, General? One week, sir. I said, One week? I heard two years. One week, sir. Let us do it the way we want to do it. I said, General, do it. And you saw what happened. Right? Everybody saw. We have the whole thing.
Among those with us is Sergeant Sean Rogers, who, a few weeks ago, received the Bronze Star for Valor. Where is Sean? Where is Sean? Sergeant Sean, around here someplace. Where are you, handsome devil? (Applause.) Come up here. Come up. Should I bring him up? I wont bring the generals. (Applause.) I wont bring the generals up, but come on, Sean, get up here. Dont worry about Secret Service. You can take them, Sean. (Laughter.) Secret Service immediately runs up. (Laughter.)
SERGEANT ROGERS: Thank you, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: You want to say something? Come on.
SERGEANT ROGERS: No, Im fine, sir. (Laughs.) (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Listen, come on. Maybe hes a natural politician.
SERGEANT ROGERS: Just thank you, I guess. (Laughs.)
THE PRESIDENT: Good job, right?
SERGEANT ROGERS: Yes, sir. (Applause.) Thank you, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
That was a good response, (inaudible). (Laughter.) Brave guy.
While he was in Afghanistan, Sean and his team occupied a rooftop and provided cover for a Special Forces team. Sean rushed into the enemy fire to rescue a member of his team, Specialist Gabriel Condy.
Now, I dont know, is lets see, who else is here from that area, from that part, Sean? Anybody with you? Anybody else? Yeah. Okay.
Tragically, Specialist Condy did not make it alive. And, today, we remember the heroic sacrifice of this incredible American hero. We are eternally grateful in his debt.
And, Sean, I want to thank you and everybody else involved. But thats really really something. And we pay great respect. You know that.
To everyone here today who fights for our flag across the globe: Thank you for bravely facing down the danger to protect and have such danger out there the lives and liberty of all Americans. Our country is stronger now maybe than its ever been. Our military is being rebuilt at a rapid pace. Our economy is powerful. Our economy is probably as good as its ever been, or better.
Unemployment numbers are historic. Youve been seeing black unemployment, African American unemployment lowest levels in the history of our country. Hispanic unemployment lowest levels in the history of our country. Lowest levels. Best theyve ever been. Women lowest in 61 years. Sixty-one years. Asian unemployment lowest in history, history of our country. And were just doing great. Were setting records.
The stock market is, right now, almost at an all-time high. I have about 18 records. It then went down a little bit because we had to a couple of trade deals, and people didnt understand. Now theyre starting to say, You know, that was pretty good. Thats good what he is doing.
Were negotiating now with China and others Mexico, Canada. Weve done those deals. They have to get approved by Congress. Well see what happens. Dealing with Congress is never easy. I dont think they like me too much. (Laughter.) But they have to do ultimately, they have to do whats right. But I will say that youre looking at a country now thats doing better than ever.
And theres something it has to be youre protecting our country. Youre protecting us. And I would think it must feel good to know that the country is doing really well, as opposed to really badly, like it has done not so long ago. So youre protecting something thats very special.
All over the world, theyre talking about us. I go and I meet the prime ministers and presidents, and kings and queens, and they all say, Mr. President, congratulations on your economy especially on your economy. Were trying to copy it, and its not working. Its just not working for other countries. Other countries are not doing well. And I want them to do well.
But China is way down. The EU is down. A lot of countries are very much down. Most of them. And were hitting new highs. So were doing a lot of things right, and you folks are a big reason for it.
Also with us today are the amazing people and airmen of the 673rd Air Base Wing. In the wake of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, which was just recent, and I remember seeing it. I said, Boy, oh, boy. Thats a big one 7.0. Took place in November. They successfully restored airfield operations here at J-Bear in under one hour. Thats pretty quick.
Did you what did you do to do that? Thats well, number one, I gave you good equipment, right? Huh? (Laughter.) Safeguarding NORADs vital homeland security mission. Thank you for your incredible work. Thats incredible. I heard that you were up and running in about an hour. And it was pretty you were hit hard.
Alaska hosts the largest combined training area for American air, ground, and maritime forces. You know the best way to Keep America safe is to keep America strong. And the stronger we get, the less likely it is that well have to use that strength. Right, generals? Its an incredible its an incredible we learned that in high school, we learned that way before high school. But the stronger you are, the stronger you can be, the less likely it is youll have to use that strength and that power. And thats what were doing. Were making you so strong. And soon, I can honestly say, strong like weve never been strong before.
Thats why, in the last two years, Ive spent when you think about it over $1.5 trillion. Next year, the 11th Air Force, headquartered right here at J-Bear, will receive the first of 54 brand-new never used before F-35 fighter jets. You like them? (Applause.)
Well, for the pilots you know, Ive seen a lot of the pilots throughout the country when I stop at different places, and I say, How do you like the F-35? We love it, sir. Well, how good is it compared to the enemy aircraft? Well, sir, you cant see it. I said, Explain that to me. You know, its stealth. Its the stealthiest plane, by far, in the world. So they say, Well, when we have battles, you cant see it. I said, Huh, that would be tough. Wouldnt it be tough if you have somebody and you cant see it?
So all I say is this: You get 54 brand new ones. I wont tell you what they cost because its too much. (Laughter.) But its a lot of money. But theyre very special and youre getting very special planes, and youre getting a lot of them 54. So theyll be arriving here very soon.
And all of the generals, I hope youre going to give them all to the best pilots, and youre going to take good care of those planes and good care of those pilots. Right? Okay? Its really an honor. But youre getting a big, big number.
Well also deploy 20 more ground-based interceptors to Fort Greeley, which will further strengthen our missile defense system. So important. Missile defense system is also being rebuilt very substantially. And were going to have the latest and the greatest. Unfortunately, as soon as you have it, you have to redo it because, after about six months, everything becomes obsolete in this world. Right? We do that, they do this. We do that, they do this. Its never ending. But thats the way it goes. Its a cycle.
Our goal is very simple: to ensure that we can monitor, detect, and destroy any missile launched against the United States, no matter what speed were talking about. Any missile.
Were spending a tremendous amount of money now on missile technology and also missile defense technology, at my very strong urging. And what theyre able to do now is incredible. Its like shooting a needle in the haystack. Its incredible technology they have. And I said, Upgrade it further and further. Advance it.
America does not seek conflict, but if we are forced to defend ourselves, we will fight and we will win in an overwhelming fashion. Thats where we are.
We will forever be grateful for your service and your sacrifice. And we will always ensure that you have the tools, resources, and support you need to defeat our nations enemies and safeguard the freedoms given to us by Almighty God.
To everyone at J-Bear: We salute you. We thank you for your incredible service. We love you. God bless you. And God bless the men and women of the armed forces. God bless America. And thank you for doing such a fantastic job. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. (Applause.)
END
10:10 A.M. AKST
Ohiogal
(31,950 posts)What a doofus!
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)Seriously stupid.
underpants
(182,717 posts)So Trump is just sitting around on AF1 in his undershirt?
Are all those other commanders some others who arent highly respected like Bussiere?
W. T. F. ?
akraven
(1,975 posts)And probably ordered to be there. They'll handle it. The Joint Base is, BTW, gorgeous.
thegoose
(3,115 posts)I bet when the asshole left they said, "What the fuck was that?"
FirstLight
(13,357 posts)I literally can't even get past 2 paragraphs tops...and scanning looking for a thread of cohesion...WTAF!???
somebody, please help the US and get him outta here! Feels like being a hostage at your senile grandpa's ranch... "no-one can hear you scream"
dalton99a
(81,426 posts)magicarpet
(14,143 posts)pResidential ideas coming from his ass.
The White Trash pResident.
yonder
(9,662 posts)Where do I go to get back the time spent reading it?
Girard442
(6,066 posts)The Deplorables have no reading comprehension anyway so they just see a whole big bunch of words and think, hes brilliant! Never occurs to them that nobody, including Trump himself, can make sense of that blather.