SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a commencement speech to the graduating class of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on May 24, 2025.
(Photo: Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Trump Brags That He's 'Not Cutting 10 Cents' From Pentagon as GOP Guts Medicaid
"We can cut plenty of other things," President Donald Trump told West Point's graduating class.
May 25, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday bragged to West Point's graduating class that he has refused to cut Pentagon spending and touted his push for an annual military budget of $1 trillion, arguing that other programs should be on the chopping block instead.
"Some people say, 'Could you cut it back?' I said, 'I'm not cutting 10 cents,'" the president said of Pentagon spending during his bizarre, campaign-style commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy.
"We can cut plenty of other things," Trump added, without specifying what he sees as better targets for cuts than the Pentagon, a sprawling morass of waste and abuse that recently failed its seventh consecutive audit.
Trump: $1 trillion military budget, General. $1 trillion. People say could you cut it back? I said I'm not cutting 10 cents. We can cut plenty of other things. pic.twitter.com/wPZQNRKl1C
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 24, 2025
Trump's remarks came after House Republicans, with his support, passed a massive budget reconciliation package that includes more than $100 billion in additional spending for the U.S. military and around $1 trillion in combined cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The military spending boost, which critics slammed as unnecessary and detrimental, is aimed at promoting Trump priorities such as his proposed "Golden Dome," an idea that experts have dismissed as a "fantasy." It is also a major opportunity for profiteering: Reuters reported last month that Elon Musk's SpaceX has emerged as one of the frontrunners to build a "crucial part" of the system.
With the $1 trillion that Trump is seeking to allocate to the military in the coming fiscal year, the U.S. could erase all medical debt, slash child poverty, end homelessness, tackle the nation's nursing and teacher shortages, replace all of the country's lead pipes, and build nationwide high-speed rail, according to an analysis by the National Priorities Project (NPP).
"A trillion-dollar investment in ordinary Americans is not radical; it would effectively help prevent crime, improve security, and raise standards of living across the country. And it's what most people actually want," wrote NPP research analyst Hanna Homestead. "Poll after poll shows Americans would rather have their tax dollars spent on public services than on Pentagon contractors, and would prefer policymakers prioritize spending on healthcare, education, housing, and infrastructure—not the military."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday bragged to West Point's graduating class that he has refused to cut Pentagon spending and touted his push for an annual military budget of $1 trillion, arguing that other programs should be on the chopping block instead.
"Some people say, 'Could you cut it back?' I said, 'I'm not cutting 10 cents,'" the president said of Pentagon spending during his bizarre, campaign-style commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy.
"We can cut plenty of other things," Trump added, without specifying what he sees as better targets for cuts than the Pentagon, a sprawling morass of waste and abuse that recently failed its seventh consecutive audit.
Trump: $1 trillion military budget, General. $1 trillion. People say could you cut it back? I said I'm not cutting 10 cents. We can cut plenty of other things. pic.twitter.com/wPZQNRKl1C
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 24, 2025
Trump's remarks came after House Republicans, with his support, passed a massive budget reconciliation package that includes more than $100 billion in additional spending for the U.S. military and around $1 trillion in combined cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The military spending boost, which critics slammed as unnecessary and detrimental, is aimed at promoting Trump priorities such as his proposed "Golden Dome," an idea that experts have dismissed as a "fantasy." It is also a major opportunity for profiteering: Reuters reported last month that Elon Musk's SpaceX has emerged as one of the frontrunners to build a "crucial part" of the system.
With the $1 trillion that Trump is seeking to allocate to the military in the coming fiscal year, the U.S. could erase all medical debt, slash child poverty, end homelessness, tackle the nation's nursing and teacher shortages, replace all of the country's lead pipes, and build nationwide high-speed rail, according to an analysis by the National Priorities Project (NPP).
"A trillion-dollar investment in ordinary Americans is not radical; it would effectively help prevent crime, improve security, and raise standards of living across the country. And it's what most people actually want," wrote NPP research analyst Hanna Homestead. "Poll after poll shows Americans would rather have their tax dollars spent on public services than on Pentagon contractors, and would prefer policymakers prioritize spending on healthcare, education, housing, and infrastructure—not the military."
From Your Site Articles
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday bragged to West Point's graduating class that he has refused to cut Pentagon spending and touted his push for an annual military budget of $1 trillion, arguing that other programs should be on the chopping block instead.
"Some people say, 'Could you cut it back?' I said, 'I'm not cutting 10 cents,'" the president said of Pentagon spending during his bizarre, campaign-style commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy.
"We can cut plenty of other things," Trump added, without specifying what he sees as better targets for cuts than the Pentagon, a sprawling morass of waste and abuse that recently failed its seventh consecutive audit.
Trump: $1 trillion military budget, General. $1 trillion. People say could you cut it back? I said I'm not cutting 10 cents. We can cut plenty of other things. pic.twitter.com/wPZQNRKl1C
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 24, 2025
Trump's remarks came after House Republicans, with his support, passed a massive budget reconciliation package that includes more than $100 billion in additional spending for the U.S. military and around $1 trillion in combined cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The military spending boost, which critics slammed as unnecessary and detrimental, is aimed at promoting Trump priorities such as his proposed "Golden Dome," an idea that experts have dismissed as a "fantasy." It is also a major opportunity for profiteering: Reuters reported last month that Elon Musk's SpaceX has emerged as one of the frontrunners to build a "crucial part" of the system.
With the $1 trillion that Trump is seeking to allocate to the military in the coming fiscal year, the U.S. could erase all medical debt, slash child poverty, end homelessness, tackle the nation's nursing and teacher shortages, replace all of the country's lead pipes, and build nationwide high-speed rail, according to an analysis by the National Priorities Project (NPP).
"A trillion-dollar investment in ordinary Americans is not radical; it would effectively help prevent crime, improve security, and raise standards of living across the country. And it's what most people actually want," wrote NPP research analyst Hanna Homestead. "Poll after poll shows Americans would rather have their tax dollars spent on public services than on Pentagon contractors, and would prefer policymakers prioritize spending on healthcare, education, housing, and infrastructure—not the military."
From Your Site Articles
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.