The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board took a swipe at President Donald Trump's leadership on Friday afternoon, bemoaning the lack of progress in rebuilding the military.
The board praised Trump's bombing campaign on Iran as an "impressive military feat," but warned, "don’t let that success fool you."
The B-2 bombers are nearly 30 years old, the board noted. To boot, the United States has just 19 in service.
"The military is in worse shape than President Trump claims, and he’s ducking the second-term rearmament he promised," the editors lamented.
Trump has repeatedly promised to restore and rebuild the U.S. military, and the White House bragged over its $1 trillion defense budget for next year. While the Journal praised Trump for taking a "deserved bow" for getting NATO to spend 5% of GDP on defense, they noted he hasn't held himself to the same standard.
"It’s spending roughly half the 6% of GDP it devoted to defense at the height of Ronald Reagan’s military buildup. Even the $1 trillion is a game of three-card monte," the board said.
Later in the piece, the board called Trump's budget "inadequate" for his grand ideas, such as a pricey Golden Dome missile shield, which got $25 billion.
"What’s the plan to fund this enormous undertaking, which includes space-based interceptors, for decades to come? Ask again later," the Journal railed, noting there are "bad trade-offs" buried in the budget, such as setting aside $3.5 billion for new F-47 fighter jets, while slashing the number of F-35 buys to 47 from 74. Additionally, a new U.S. Navy fighter has been paused.
"The latter is especially absurd: U.S. aircraft carrier vulnerability in the Pacific is the most discussed military weakness of the decade, and longer-range aircraft on carriers would be a big counter," the Journal railed.
"Congress can fill some of the Trump defense potholes, but reinvigorating the U.S. military requires White House leadership. So far Mr. Trump isn’t providing it," the board concluded.
