Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday outlined his national security agenda in his first outdoor rally since being shot in an assassination attempt.
Trump spoke on stage behind a tall, bullet-proof partition as he rallied supporters with his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) in Asheboro, North Carolina.
In his speech, Trump criticized the Biden administration’s revision of the jobs report. The Labor Department earlier on Wednesday revealed that the U.S. economy created 818,000 fewer jobs than originally reported in the 12 months through March 2024, according to its annual benchmark revisions.
Trump laid out his second-term national security agenda, promising to make a historic investment in the U.S. military.
The former president accused the Biden-Harris Administration of executing a “catastrophic retreat from Afghanistan.” Trump said it was “disgusting” that the Taliban held a military parade that showed off equipment that the U.S. left behind following the withdrawal.
“I will ask for the resignation of every single senior official that touched the Afghanistan disaster,” Trump said.
He also pledged to eliminate critical race theory and “transgender insanity” from the U.S. armed forces on his first day of office.
“Our wars should be focused on defeating America’s enemies, not figuring out someone’s gender,” according to Trump.
The current administration “purged 8,000 people from the military” for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, he said, further promising to “rehire every patriot with an apology and back pay.”
Trump also told supporters that he wants to rebuild the U.S. Armed Forces and promised “the largest peacetime recruitment in history.”
“We’re going to build a great big iron dome over our country,” Trump told supporters, adding that the U.S. is in great danger of another war.
He also blamed the Biden-Harris administration for the wars between Russia and Ukraine and between Israel and Hamas.
Speaking about the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Trump said Michelle and Barack Obama launched personal attacks against him during their Tuesday night speeches at the convention.
The 45th president won the swing state of North Carolina over Biden in 2020. This is his second trip to the state in a week. Last week, Trump visited Asheville, North Carolina, where he delivered a speech and outlined his economic agenda.
Democrats are holding their third night of the DNC in Chicago as Trump and Vance continue to hit the campaign trail. Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, former President Bill Clinton, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are expected to deliver prime-time speeches on Wednesday night.