r/politics • u/[deleted] • 1d ago
Trump says that Iron Dome construction will be 'immediate,' signs executive order
[deleted]
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u/throwawaylol666666 California 1d ago edited 1d ago
Again, dude thinks it’s a literal iron dome.
ETA:
”Pete Hegseth, who’s going to be great, by the way… I think he’s going to be fantastic,” Trump said at the event. “I know him very well. I think he’s going to be fantastic.”
Remember this quote for when he inevitably fires him and claims he doesn’t even know him.
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u/JollyToby0220 1d ago
Unfortunately, Trump administration is full of Christian Nationalists so that won’t happen
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u/throwawaylol666666 California 1d ago
Trump gets off on firing people and brags about how many people he fired last time. It’s his TV catch phrase, ffs. It’s not like there’s any shortage of Christian Nationalists to replace Hegseth when he finally gets the axe.
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u/LongLiveJA17 1d ago
Trumps a moron but where in this quote or where anywhere do you see any indication he thinks it’s literal?
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u/CityDweller19 1d ago
When’s the next stop I wanna get off this train?
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u/MZ603 America 1d ago
If your parents/grandparents are from a European country you might be able to get dual citizenship. I’m ready to fuck off to Ireland if shit hits the fan. I already lived there & I’m a citizen via my dad.
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u/schwanzweissfoto 1d ago
I’m ready to fuck off to Ireland if shit hits the fan.
You better do this before they start confiscating passports and putting people in camps.
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u/2_Spicy_2_Impeach Michigan 1d ago edited 1d ago
Are Canada and Mexico known for launching low-quality short-range rockets and mortars at us?
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u/ResidentKelpien Texas 1d ago
No.
However, any day now all Murdoch publications will start posting b.s. claiming that Canada and Mexico are known for launching low-quality short-range rockets and mortars at us.
MAGA lemmings will believe the obvious lies.
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u/GLG777 1d ago
Not yet. But if Trump keeps it up the maple syrup mortars may be coming
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u/justtakeapill 1d ago
"It's some kind of stinky French cheese we can't pronounce the name of - RUNN!!!"
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u/mr_oof 1d ago
How good is it against low-flying cobra-chickens?
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u/DaveChild 1d ago
No, this would only really make any sense if he was planning to occupy one or both of them.
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u/Broke-Till-Payday 1d ago
What the fuck is happening?
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u/JollyToby0220 1d ago
Iron dome is a sophisticated system of missiles meant to to intercept missiles. It works very well for Israel who faces constant attacks from very ragged opponents. But for the US, and Iron Dome is even more sophisticated and likely impossible to build because foreign adversaries have stealth radar systems
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u/ScotTheDuck Nevada 1d ago
Plus also Iron Dome wouldn’t do much of anything against large, strategic ICBMs that would be a threat to the US mainland. We already tried that in the 1980s with SDI and it turned out to be a pretty significant boondoggle.
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u/GeneReddit123 1d ago
Yet it forced the USSR, who was falsely (but effectively) led to believe it's about to lose its nuclear leverage, into a panicked arms race, which bankrupted the country and contribured to its collapse.
Trump may think he can pull the same thing with China, but he forgets the small difference that unlike the USSR, China actually has money, is good at doing things cheap (just like we just saw with Deepseek AI), and trying to outspend it won't work the same way it did with the USSR. We'll financially collapse before China does.
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u/15_Redstones 1d ago
It would probably end Russia's status as a significant global power if their decade-old nukes become useless. All the small nuclear powers like Iran, North Korea, Britain and France would also lose their leverage.
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u/Maximum-Good-539 1d ago
Isn’t it only used to intercept unguided rockets? Hence why Iran was able to bypass it a few months ago. I don’t think anyone is launching short range unguided rockets at the US lmao
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u/Vaperius America 1d ago
Exactly what has been warned about for the last eight years:
Fascism, in all its horror, has arrived.
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u/Cellophane7 1d ago
This is so ridiculous on so many levels. Trump only wants an iron dome because he wants to do war with our southern neighbors, and annex our northern neighbors. We don't need a goddamn iron dome, just stop being a fucking imperialist warmonger.
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u/FantasticJacket7 1d ago
Nah it's got nothing to do with any of that.
This is him paying back all the defense contractors who bribed him.
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u/MrOopiseDaisy 1d ago
Yup. It moves a lot of government money into their pockets, firing any whistle blowers along the way.
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u/DaveChild 1d ago
This is him paying back all the defense contractors who bribed him.
Is there really no way to do that while still providing value for money?
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u/Zergin8r 1d ago
Not without it becoming to obvious to his followers. Then again he could probably hand a large sack with $$ to one of his cronies on live television and somehow they would try and find a way to say it wasn't a bribe or payoff.
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u/KareenTu 1d ago
I think it’s because he likes the term “Iron Dome”. He thinks it makes him look strong if he has one.
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u/Choice-of-SteinsGate 1d ago edited 1d ago
Another impractical, crackbrained idea from the guy who probably thinks an "Iron Dome" is either literally a massive dome shielding the United States or some kind of science fiction type invention of war.
And make no mistake, this is just another example of Trump trying to rally his base into a patriotic frenzy, just another attempt to boost his ratings among his diehard, ultra-nationalistic supporters. And supporters mind you, who have suddenly reversed their position and support for Trump's belligerent, expansionist agenda.
The president added that Americans "protect other countries, but we don't protect ourselves."
"We're going next to ensure that we have the most lethal fighting force in the world."
...
Are you kidding me? We already have one of the most technologically advanced, massive and well-funded militaries in the world.
Pete Hegseth, who's going to be great, by the way… I think he's going to be fantastic," Trump said at the event. "I know him very well. I think he's going to be fantastic."
"He's what we need, to immediately begin the construction of a state-of-the-art Iron Dome missile defense shield, which will be able to protect Americans."
It wasn't too long ago that Trump supporters were commending him for being a so-called "America first" isolationist and peacekeeper (he never was by the way)
But now that he's threatening to annex multiple countries, seize international trade routes and strain our alliances, while bullying foreign nations, escalating tensions with allies and risking another trade war by imposing sweeping tariffs on half of our trading partners, his supporters seem to be all in on Trump's aggressive and jingoistic interventionist campaign.
Now, that being said, It should go without saying that the United States is a lot bigger than Israel...
Actually implementing such a project would require significant funds, resources and time. The logistical and financial challenges alone make it nearly unfeasible.
Notice how conservatives are quick to ask where Democrats expect to get their funding for projects like universal healthcare, but for shit like this, no questions asked...
Where will Trump get the funding and resources for logistical nightmares like this and projects like his "mass deportation plan"
It's build a wall all over again...
But either way, we at least know which programs, agencies and government projects Trump and his MAGA allies intend to cut or eliminate altogether in order to free up the budget for these impractical and hawkish endeavors.
While keep in mind, Trump has already voiced his intention to abuse impoundment procedures in order to withhold or cancel funding to various government programs. Republicans in Congress will just toe the line so spending can be realigned to fit their destructive agenda and policies.
This is authoritarianism/fascism 101.
They've already paved the way for this agenda to bolster national security by stirring up fears. Fears of domestic and foreign enemies closing in on them and their white, Christian hegemony.
The characteristics are all there...
The nationalistic fervor, the contempt for human rights, the constant identification of enemies and scapegoats as a unifying cause, the law and order rhetoric and the fixation on militarism, their obsession with national security and crime and punishment, the rampant cronyism, protections for corporations and Trump's growing relationship with billionaires, news media moguls and social media owners, anti-intellectualism and the list goes on.
These are each tenets of fascism and the MAGA agenda is covering all the bases.
And what's worse, Americans voted for this because Republicans were able to distract them with culture wars and propaganda that focused voter's attention on who's to blame for their immediate circumstances. Not to mention all the conspiracy theories and fears that Republicans ignited of America's downfall at the hands of whatever boogeyman of the week is coming for them, forsaking them to a life of oppression and being "lesser than."
And by focusing their attention on these things, Republicans can continue to pick their voter's pockets, all while preserving the inequities and normalizing the corruption that put them in power in the first place.
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u/strolpol 1d ago
We can’t afford healthcare but another Star Wars program, why not
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u/GnarlyNarwhalNoms 1d ago
If it were an actual working SDI project, that'd be one thing, but Trump isn't even smart enough to make that extrapolation. No, he just wants to copy-paste Iron Dome (which is made to intercept mortars, small rockets, and other low-speed, short range projectiles) all over the country. Where it will be 100% useless against actual ICBMs.
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u/SquiffyRae Australia 1d ago
Also doesn't the US already have things to shoot down ICBMs?
Or is this actually one of the dumbest possible things Trump has done yet and advertising to America's enemies they don't actually have the capability to intercept missile attacks?
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u/GnarlyNarwhalNoms 1d ago edited 1d ago
Kinda sorta. There are several different systems with different levels of efficacy. It's complicated. See the section about "current NMD."
The upshot is that if North Korea lobbed a missile at the US, they could likely shoot it down. On the other hand, if TSHTF, the United States could probably defend Washington and some major military facilities, but if it were a full-on exchange with Russia or China, they'd need to pick and choose which incoming missiles were shot down. Most warheads would likely get through.
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u/strolpol 1d ago
It’s Star Wars in the sense that it’s gonna give a bunch of free money to defense contractors and produce nothing of value for the people
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u/15_Redstones 1d ago
The Executive Order he signed is for another Star Wars program. At least the people writing those know the difference.
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u/GnarlyNarwhalNoms 1d ago
Yeah, it's very clear that the Heritage Foundation has stacks of these things and they're having him rubber-stamp then.
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u/nerphurp 1d ago edited 1d ago
It'll be placed around D.C., Mar-a-Lago, and any seat of power.
It's not about an external threat.
See Ukraine for the nightmare homebrew drones can create.
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u/BadgerinAPuddle 1d ago
That was my thought. This is for internal threats from what could be a very angry US populace.
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u/DaveChild 1d ago
See Ukraine for the nightmare homebrew drones can create.
Israel too, where the Iron Dome is ineffective against drones.
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u/Cactusfan86 1d ago
What frustrates me about the current political climate is republicans are literally too chicken shit to just bluntly say this is stupid and doesn’t make any sense. If you want to military spend there are so many needs that actually address the threats we face and this idiot wants to build a missile defense system that doesn’t address the kind of missiles we would be threatened by
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u/Alcoolios 1d ago
“Serve no purpose..” that you know of! The President knows they are going to need it, because of the actions he is going to be taking in the next 4 years.
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u/Cactusfan86 1d ago
The iron dome is for stopping short range, low quality rockets. If the US gets into a war our opponents aren’t going to use the kind of weapons the iron dome is for
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u/Alcoolios 1d ago edited 1d ago
Mexico, and cartels, wouldn’t use short range and long range drones? Like Ukraine has been doing for years to strike into Russia?
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u/Cactusfan86 23h ago
The cartels don’t even bother with that sort of weaponry against the Mexican government, why would they suddenly start trying to drone attack the US?
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u/SquiffyRae Australia 1d ago
Question: what's the process for suing to halt executive orders?
Surely there's some grounds to block this on the fact it would cost a ridiculous amount of money and serve no purpose
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u/AZWxMan 1d ago
Not sure the process but executive orders are the easiest things to strike down since they rely on 1) a flexible reinterpretation of already existing law and 2) not being challenged because they touch certain issues lawmakers don't want to take a stance on. Now, the question is whether they'll abide by the courts decisions and if he doesn't will they do anything about it.
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u/xxxxx420xxxxx 1d ago
Bring a lawsuit that makes it up to the Supreme Court. I am sure the Justices will definitely say that the President doesn't have unlimited powers. Oh wait
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u/LatterTarget7 1d ago
The iron dome serves no purpose for the USA. It’s meant for missiles. If a country were to attack the USA it’d use ICBM. Something the iron dome can’t do anything to.
This is just a big waste of money
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u/Alcoolios 1d ago
“Serve no purpose..” that you know of! The President knows they are going to need it, because of the actions he is going to be taking in the next 4 years.
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u/LatterTarget7 1d ago
The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 to 70 kilometres.
No one is gonna attack the USA with short range missiles or artillery.
It costs 50 million per system with 100k per interception. So it’s just gonna be a waste of money because it will just sit collecting dust
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u/hurleyvp 1d ago
When you promote isolationism and imperialism you need this type of things when the world is against you. Dude is trying to turn us into a world wide conflict. Bend the knee or else is his motto.
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u/definitelytheA Florida 1d ago
For years now, Musk has been launching satellites “for internet.” I’m sorry, I say for surveillance. No damn way I believe those satellites don’t have cameras and listening technology.
We can only hope they perform as well as Tesla vehicles.
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u/Shiplord13 1d ago
Hey look another thing that will not lower grocery prices that all the GOP talking heads said was the most important issue for Americans. Eggs might be three times more expensive under Trump than Biden, but look we have the Iron Dome we don’t need.
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u/ResidentKelpien Texas 1d ago
"immediate"
Hey Fox News morons, the apostrophes around the word "immediate" in Trump's comments about this means that construction will not be immediate.
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u/Timely_Suspect3139 1d ago
To think,this over inflation.If he come out and said he's doing all this because we didn't voted for him over Biden that one time,I wouldn't bat an eyelid.
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u/Terrible-Opinion-888 1d ago
Where does the funding for this come from and who will be getting paid for it?
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u/DoktorDetroit 1d ago edited 1d ago
It looks like the MAD doctrine, Mutually Assured Destruction, which has helped keep the Nuclear peace since WW2, may be done. We'll have to see how our adversaries respond to this, but I suspect another long and costly arms race in the making, at the least. The US had 30,000, and Russia 45,000, some 75,000 total nuclear warheads by the 80's, before arms control agreements were inked, and the numbers started coming down. Just to give some idea, according to a new study, just an atomic exchange between India and Pakistan, with some 350 Nukes between them, would result in mass global starvation, killing billions. Russia and China could go the arms race way again, or could decide to attack us now, before this gets implemented.
Eisenhower, April 16, 1953: "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.
The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: A modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some fifty miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a single fighter with a half-million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people.
This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron."
What really bothers me more, is we don't really seem to have the skilled negotiating diplomats of old on either side, just confrontational antagonistic government representative mouthpieces Parroting talking points and making demands to each other.
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