Addressing the nation’s top military generals and admirals, President Donald Trump criticized his predecessor, Joe Biden, for not sufficiently communicating how powerful the U.S. military is.
“I said we have the strongest military anywhere in the world. I say it. You never heard Biden say that,” Trump said.
Trump’s Sept. 30 statement came at an unusual in-person meeting of top military brass in Quantico, Virginia, and followed remarks by Pete Hegseth, secretary overseeing the Defense Department, which Trump has sought to rebrand as the Department of War.
Trump is wrong about Biden. The former president praised the U.S. military as the world’s best on at least a dozen occasions.
Here are some examples:
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Speech to a joint session of Congress, April 28, 2021: “We have, without hyperbole, the greatest fighting force in the history of the world.”
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Speech to the 82nd Airborne Division at Rzeszow, Poland, March 25, 2022: “You’re the finest fighting force in the history of the world.”
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Speech at the U.S. Naval Academy graduation and commissioning ceremony, May 27, 2022: “Today you stand ready to assume the title you’ve been working toward for so long: Ensign, the United States Navy. Second lieutenant, the United States Marine Corps. Members of the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. And that’s no exaggeration. You have earned it. Congratulations.”
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Remarks on his nomination of Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, May 30, 2023: “The steps we’ve taken over the decades to harness the full diversity of our nation have grown our armed forces into the greatest fighting force … in the history of the world.”
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Speech at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, June 9, 2023: “Our military is the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. And that’s because of warriors like you — and the service and sacrifice of your spouses, kids, and family members.” (This was also shared on Twitter and Instagram.)
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Speech in Tempe, Arizona, Sept. 28, 2023: “Our U.S. military — and this is not hyperbole; I’ve said it for the last two years — is the strongest military in the history of the world. Not just the strongest in the world –- in the history of the world.”
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Speech at the armed forces farewell tribute for retiring Gen. Mark A. Milley, Sept. 29, 2023: “Americans of every background and creed have stepped forward to be part of the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. And that’s not hyperbole. You’re the greatest fighting force in the history of the world.”
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Commencement address to the U.S. Military Academy, May 29, 2024: “You’re about to become full-time members of the most honorable and the most consequential fighting force in the history of the world — that’s not hyperbole — of the world. That’s the truth.”
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Speech marking Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery, Nov. 11, 2024. “You are the greatest fighting force — and this is not hyperbole — the finest fighting force in the history of the world.” (Also shared on X.)
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Presenting a Medal of Honor, Jan. 3: “It’s been the greatest honor of my life to be entrusted with the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. They’re the finest military in the history of the world.”
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White House fact sheet, Jan. 15: “Our military remains the strongest fighting force the world has known.”
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Farewell remarks to the Defense Department, Jan. 16: “You are simply the greatest fighting force in the history of the world — in the history of the world. That’s a fact. That’s not hyperbole, that’s a fact.” (This was also shared on Facebook.)
Biden said something similar at least once as vice president, telling U.S. Military Academy graduates May 26, 2012“America’s unique role in the world requires that we maintain the world’s finest fighting force. That’s a non-negotiable issue. And that’s exactly what this strategy does.”
Asked about Trump’s statement, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told PolitiFact, “Joe Biden repeatedly degraded our military servicemembers, including infamously looking at his watch” during a dignified transfer of remains. Kelly was referring to a 2021 incident in which Biden and first lady Jill Biden traveled to Dover Air Force Base to receive the remains of U.S. service members who were killed in an August 2021 terrorist attack at Afghanistan’s Kabul airport. Videos and photographs show that Biden checked his watch at least two or three times while standing on the tarmac.
Our ruling
Trump said, “You never heard Biden say” the U.S. has “the strongest military anywhere in the world.”
On at least a dozen occasions when Biden was president — including in speeches to military academy graduates and Medal of Honor winners, at Veterans Day observances and to rank-and-file servicemembers and lawmakers — he said something similar, praising the U.S. military as the world’s best or strongest.
The statement is inaccurate and, given the number of times Biden’s statements contradict Trump’s claim, it’s also ridiculous. Pants on Fire!
