As the United States prepares to celebrate her 249th birthday, a growing number of Americans say they’ve noticed a marked decline in patriotism.
More specifically, 44% of respondents in an <a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/5379913-44-percent-say-us-becoming-less-patriotic-survey/">Economist/YouGov survey</a> published this week said they believe the U.S. is becoming less patriotic. In comparison, a much smaller 14% said they think the nation is becoming more so.
Jesse Parks, a former U.S. Army Sergeant who served in Afghanistan, has noticed this shift in attitude.
“[Seeing] flags being burnt and seeing protests being more frequent,” Parks told the Daily Wire, “it tears down the country.”
Born into a military family, Parks said he was inspired to follow in the footsteps of those who came before him.
“All my uncles, dad, older brother, served. Everybody,” he said.
Parks initially applied to serve in the United States Marine Corps, but his application was rejected. Undeterred, he enlisted later in the United States Army, where he was accepted and rose through the ranks.
When asked why he enlisted, Parks said, “I think you join the military to fight for your country. It opens up a lot of doors, but in the end, you fight.”
He was deployed to Afghanistan in December 2010, where he said his unit’s primary mission was to train and advise the Afghan National Army Basic Training Command Teams, alongside the British and French Armies. He later became an infantry fire team leader.
Parks said that patriotism was a major factor in his decision to join the armed forces. He described it as “a love of your country put into action, whether that&#8217;s military, that&#8217;s political, or that&#8217;s civil service.”
But what is “patriotism” anyway?
“Patriotism” <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patriotism">is often defined</a> as a “love for or devotion to one’s country.”
Yet, a growing number of Americans say they don’t see a shared sense of admiration for the country they call home. Lightning rod political issues ranging from abortion to illegal immigration, along with a major political realignment that has seen the Democratic Party lurch harder to the left and the Republican Party lurch harder to the right, have revealed a simmering disunity.
“[Patriotism is] a big part of what allows us to progress,” Parks said. “It is what kind of helps us progress as a society. We don&#8217;t all have to have the same views, but as long as we have patriotism, which is different than nationalism, as long as it&#8217;s there, it allows us to progress.”
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While Parks has an expressed love of country, his may not be a shared passion: only 67% of people claim to be extremely or very proud to be American, down from 91% in 2004, according to a 2024 <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/646655/american-pride-remains-near-record-low.aspx">Gallup</a> survey.
A separate <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/646655/american-pride-remains-near-record-low.aspx">Marist</a> poll likewise found a majority of Americans have noticed this shift, with 52% of respondents stating that the country seems less patriotic than it was just a few years ago.
The disunity and decline may feel all the more evident with the recent riots and attacks on first responders.
“[T]here has been a perversion of patriotism,” Parks told the Daily Wire.
“Groups like Antifa seem like they don&#8217;t care about this country and want to tear it down,” he said. “January 6 was similar; it was a movement to dismantle the country. It is seen on both sides.” 
Rather than being complicit in this division, Parks said, groups such as Antifa should “consider the opportunity they have in this time in history to affect the country’s direction, and to act accordingly in a constructive manner.”
Despite all of this, the Army veteran sees hope for the future.
“There is a lot of talk about division in the country at the moment, but I don’t think that is anything new,” Parks said. “I hope people will get involved over the issues they think are important.”
Participation “will increase their sense of pride and reignite a love for their country.”
* * *
Simon Olech is a reporter studying journalism at the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Hands holding American flag in a wheat field at sunset. Independence Day, 4th of July.

Americans Say Patriotism Is Fading. One Army Veteran Is Pushing Back With Steely-Eyed Optimism

4th of July

Fourth of July

interview

Opinion

U.S. Army

U.S. Military

United States

President Trump’s strike on Iran is a seminal turning point for American foreign policy.
For years and years and years, we have been boxed into the idea that every war is the Iraq War.
Critics of President Trump — of “Peace through Strength,” going all the way back to World War II, particularly on the Left but now on the horseshoe theory Right as well — have suggested that people who do advocate for American military action liken everything to the lead-up to World War II, to Neville Chamberlain and Munich. They say not everything is World War II. Not every war is the Iraq War.
You might notice that the vast bevy of people who keep complaining about President Trump&#8217;s strike on the Iranian nuclear facilities keep comparing this to the Iraq War. That’s crazy.
These people who keep saying that a one-off strike on a nuclear facility — which is significantly more like killing Osama Bin Laden or killing Qasem Soleimani or killing Anwar al-Awlaki — is somehow more akin to the Iraq War: a full-scale, hundreds of thousands of troops ground invasion of a country in the Middle East, followed by a 20-year effort to rebuild the country and remold the government.
You have to be empty-headed to make that comparison.
But there is an Iraq War syndrome that has set in the American body politic that suggests that every military action is like the Iraq War. It&#8217;s very much like the Vietnam War syndrome that set in after the end of the Vietnam War, when every military action was supposed to be exactly what America did in Vietnam. It took Ronald Reagan breaking the Soviet Union in order for that to begin to end, and it truly ended when George H. W. Bush helped win the first Gulf War.
The lesson of Vietnam and Iraq is not: “Military power, or the threat of its use by the United States is bad,” or even worse, “The United States itself is bad,” which is an argument that is being made all the time by the horseshoe theory Left and the horseshoe theory Right.
The real lesson here is that victory is a possibility. Victory can be achieved if the commitment is clear and if the goal is defined.
President Trump had a goal. He defined that goal. He made a commitment to that goal. And then he pursued an action in pursuit of that goal.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2223-trump-s-masterstroke-what-comes-next?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=The+Ben+Shapiro+Show&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
The same people who are suggesting that President Trump is wrong to bomb the nuclear facilities are the same people who suggest that the United States was wrong to use the atomic bomb to end World War II, or that America has been historically evil over the course of decades. The Howard Zinn Left and the Tucker Carlson Right shake hands on this particular prospect.
But that perspective is wrong. And it is not just wrong, it is a nefariously bad perspective, because it damages America.
The world is better off because of American power — properly used. Of course power can be misused; anyone can misuse their power. We&#8217;re the most powerful country in the history of the world, with the most powerful military in the history of the world.
But — when you use your power properly, you can effectuate good things happening.
President Trump is not George W. Bush. He ran against George W. Bush’s foreign policy. President Trump has never engaged in a long-term nation building project, nor will he. He defined this mission specifically.
<div id="attachment_938485" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-938485" class="size-large wp-image-938485" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2220648176-864x576.jpg" alt="US Vice President JD Vance, from left, US President Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, and Pete Hegseth, US secretary of defense, during an address to the nation in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Saturday, June 21, 2025. Trump said the US military struck three sites in Iran on Saturday, marking the first American involvement in direct attacks against Iranian nuclear assets in its conflict with Israel. Photographer: Carlos Barria/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2220648176-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2220648176-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2220648176-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2220648176.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Carlos Barria/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
I do not actually think that the people warning about a “quagmire” are saying something understandable. I think they are saying something dishonest. I think they are lying to you.
Israel and the United States are not talking about regime change. When President Trump says that there may be regime change in Iran, he means from the Iranian people. That&#8217;s the same thing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. Do you think Netanyahu, from a country of 9.7 million people, two million of whom are Arabs and two million of whom are ultra-Orthodox Jews, that tiny country is going to deploy hundreds of thousands of troops to Iran to engage in nation-building? Do you think the United States is going to do that?
If Iranians don&#8217;t overthrow the regime, that&#8217;s their prerogative. But that does not mean that you allow that regime to go nuclear.
All of this raises a question. What exactly is the opposition? What is the opposition here? What is the case against the strike on Iran?
You can basically make three cases: the constitutional, the pragmatic, and the ideological. I think there are a lot of people who are making the constitutional and pragmatic arguments who secretly want to make the ideological argument.
The ideological argument is that America is bad, that when America involves itself in foreign policy, we are doing something evil and immoral, that our enemies, our geopolitical opponents, never have their own philosophy or their own interests. They are always, in every case, driven by American blowback. The only reason people are bad in the world is because America did a bad thing to them, and then those people turn bad.
That, of course, is ignorant. It is stupid. It is wrong. Civilizations have different interests. Countries have different interests. Those countries are driven by interests that are not always about America. Iran pursued regional domination in spite of what America was doing, not because America was a threat to Iran.
Iran decided that it wanted to obliterate Israel, wanted to wipe Saudi Arabia from the map, and wanted to take control of Yemen, not because of America, but because that is the Iranian goal. Russia is invading Ukraine because that has been their longstanding policy, not because Ukraine was moving in a more pro-American direction. Russia decided it wanted to invade Ukraine because it has been Russian policy since the 1990s to reunify with Ukraine, or at least turn it into a proxy regime.
Countries have their own rationales. The ideological case, a Howard Zinn-America-Hating-First case, has been adopted by many on the horseshoe theory Right.
Then there are people masquerading as constitutionalists who are interested in the constitutionality of what Trump is doing. This idea that the War Powers Act (War Powers Resolution) somehow prevents the president of the United States from engaging in a one-off strike is absolute sheer nonsense. It is not true. First of all, there&#8217;s serious doubt as to whether the War Powers Resolution, passed by Congress in 1973, is even constitutional. It may, in fact, violate the Article II prerogatives of the President of the United States. Article II, Section II of the Constitution says, “The president shall be commander in chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states.” The president is the Commander-In-Chief.
Only Congress has the power to declare war under Article I, Section VIII, Clause XI.
But did we declare war against Iran? Is there a war against Iran? One-off airstrikes do not mean a full-scale war against a country. They don&#8217;t. If that&#8217;s true, then we&#8217;ve been at war many, many, many, many times since World War II, all across the globe. But that is not what war constitutes. The Supreme Court has said so.
The War Powers Resolution states: “In the absence of the declaration of war, the president must report to Congress within 48 hours after introducing U.S. military forces in hostilities, which must end within 60 days unless Congress permits otherwise.”
There&#8217;s only one problem. Do you think the United States is engaging in 60 days of on-the-ground hostilities with Iran? We barely engaged in 37 hours of hostilities with Iran. Does this amount to a War Powers Resolution violation?
Then there are those people “deeply worried” about the pragmatic effect of this, who were not worried a few years ago when President Trump killed Qasem Soleimani, and who didn&#8217;t seem particularly worried five minutes ago, before this all happened, when Iran had terror cells throughout the West, but now they&#8217;re very, very worried.
Iran has been pursuing terror attacks, including an attempted assassination of the current President of the United States, for decades. At this point, they have planted terror cells all throughout the world. If the idea is that planting terror cells buys Iran impunity and Iran can now act with complete impunity all over the globe, pursuing nuclear weapons, and that means you can&#8217;t do anything about it, then what is the purpose of American foreign policy? What is the purpose?
I&#8217;m not saying there isn’t a risk when you take action. I&#8217;m saying that the greater risk would be a nuclear-armed Iran with terrorist cells all across the West. That&#8217;s the bigger risk.
This “pragmatic concern” is, in reality, something else.
It is a belief that America&#8217;s foreign policy is inherently bad, that America is the nefarious actor in the world. It&#8217;s wrong and it&#8217;s stupid.
President Trump knew exactly what he was doing when he ordered the strike on Iran. 
And he was absolutely correct.

President Trump Returns To White House From New Jersey

Trump’s Strike On Iran: A Vital Turning Point In American Foreign Policy

Ben Shapiro

Donald Trump

Foreign Policy

Iran

Iran Nuclear

Israel

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

Middle East

President Trump

Iran said on Friday that it has rejected &#8220;several&#8221; calls for negotiations from the United States after President Donald Trump gave a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-to-decide-on-iran-strike-before-july-4?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+To+Decide+On+Iran+Strike+Before+July+4">two-week deadline</a> for his decision on possibly striking the Islamic Republic, leaving the door open for talks with Tehran.
Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an address on state television, “Americans want to negotiate and have sent messages several times, but we clearly said that as long as this aggression doesn’t stop, there’s no place for talk of dialogue,” the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/06/20/world-news/iran-rejects-us-talks-after-trump-gives-two-week-deadline-to-allow-for-negotiations/">reported</a>. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran&#8217;s supreme leader, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-missile-attacks-nuclear-news-tehran-trump-06-18-2025-c6c90028dc340e2716724412fcec2cf0">rejected</a> Trump&#8217;s call for the country to surrender on Wednesday as Israel continues to pound Iranian nuclear facilities and missile launchers from the sky and take out the regime&#8217;s military leaders.
“Wise individuals who know Iran, its people and its history never speak to this nation with the language of threats, because the Iranian nation is not one to surrender,” Khamenei said.
“Americans should know that any military involvement by the U.S. will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage to them,” he added.
Iran <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/crossing-of-a-red-line-iran-hits-major-israeli-hospital-with-direct-strike">escalated</a> the conflict with Israel on Thursday morning, striking a major Israeli hospital. President Trump said on Thursday that he would decide whether to attack Iran “within the next two weeks.”
“Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” the president said in a statement shared by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> shares a message from President Trump: &quot;Based on the fact that there&#39;s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/r3yVnbZHAC">pic.twitter.com/r3yVnbZHAC</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1935753412856967261?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
While Trump gave a two-week timeline for a decision on Iran, an Israeli official <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/pm-israel-will-hit-all-nuclear-facilities-has-destroyed-half-of-irans-launchers/">told</a> The Times of Israel that the U.S. ally expects Trump to decide on striking Iran within 24 to 48 hours. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said that it&#8217;s &#8220;entirely&#8221; up to Trump to decide if the United States &#8220;wants to join or not,&#8221; adding that he speaks to Trump &#8220;almost daily.&#8221;
“He’ll do what’s good for the United States, and I’ll do what’s good for the State of Israel,” Netanyahu continued.
If the United States joins Israel in direct strikes on Iran, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2025/06/18/bunker-buster-bomb-israel-iran-conflict/84257733007/">reports</a> suggest that it could be to drop the massive &#8220;bunker buster&#8221; bomb, which can only be carried by America&#8217;s B-2 Bombers. The &#8220;bunker buster&#8221; would likely target Iran&#8217;s Fordow nuclear site, which is built approximately 300 feet underground.
Trump also said earlier this week that the United States knows &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/he-is-an-easy-target-trump-says-he-knows-exactly-where-the-ayatollah-is-hiding">exactly</a>&#8221; where Ayatollah Khamenei is hiding, adding, “He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.&#8221;

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iran Refuses To Negotiate With U.S. After Trump Sets 2-Week Deadline

Executive

Global Politics

Politics

A United States aircraft carrier strike group is on its way to the Middle East, following a large number of refueling aircraft that arrived in Europe amid Israel’s ongoing offensive against Iran.
The U.S. Navy&#8217;s USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group is heading to the Middle East from the South China Sea, <a href="https://x.com/JenGriffinFNC/status/1934616363194089879" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> Fox News’s Jennifer Griffin. The strike group is equipped with nine squadrons flying F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, E-2D Hawkeyes, C-2A Greyhounds, and MH-60R/S Sea Hawks, <a href="https://news.usni.org/2025/06/09/usni-news-fleet-and-marine-tracker-june-9-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the U.S. Naval Institute</a>.
On Sunday, several social media accounts tracked the flight movements of multiple KC-135 and KC-46 refueling aircraft, showing they were en route to Europe. Two American officials said the aircraft were being repositioned to provide President Donald Trump with additional options, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-bolsters-military-options-trump-with-refueling-aircraft-officials-say-2025-06-16/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Reuters</a>.
The Nimitz, which is the oldest aircraft carrier in the world and set to be decommissioned next year, was scheduled to replace the USS Carl Vinson, which is currently in the Arabian Sea, but is now coming ahead of schedule. The two aircraft carrier strike groups will reportedly be present at the same time as the only United States carriers in the Middle East.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/irans-supreme-leader-responds-to-israels-attack?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Iran%E2%80%99s+Supreme+Leader+Responds+To+Israel%E2%80%99s+Attack" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER RESPONDS TO ISRAEL’S ATTACK</a>
A reception scheduled for the Nimitz in Vietnam on June 20 has reportedly <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-aircraft-carrier-heads-west-schina-sea-amid-middle-east-tensions-2025-06-16/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">been canceled</a>.
Griffin notes that the USS Nimitz&#8217;s presence amid Iran’s conflict with an American ally is significant, as it was also deployed in 1980 to help rescue American hostages held at the United States Embassy in Tehran during the failed Operation Eagle Claw.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-says-united-states-not-involved-warns-iran-against-attacking-u-s-personnel?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Rubio+Says+United+States+Not+Involved%2C+Warns+Iran+Against+Attacking+U.S.+Personnel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RUBIO SAYS UNITED STATES NOT INVOLVED, WARNS IRAN AGAINST ATTACKING U.S. PERSONNEL</a>
Aircraft tankers are essential in refueling aircraft for long-range strikes.
On Sunday night, Trump encouraged Iran and Israel to “make a deal.”
“We will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran!” <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114687664442020232" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump posted</a> on Truth Social. “Many calls and meetings now taking place. I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!”
Speaking to Fox News&#8217;s Bret Baier, Israeli Prime Minister <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-had-to-act-netanyahu-reveals-why-he-struck-iran-in-first-interview-since-rising-lion-launch?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98We+Had+to+Act%E2%80%99%3A+Netanyahu+Reveals+Why+He+Struck+Iran+In+First+Interview+Since+%E2%80%98Rising+Lion%E2%80%99+Launch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Benjamin Netanyahu said</a> he is fighting a war to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/israel-eliminates-irans-revolutionary-guard-commander-in-strike-says-iranian-media?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Israel+Eliminates+Iran%E2%80%99s+Revolutionary+Guard+Commander+In+Strike%2C+Says+Iranian+Media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ISRAEL ELIMINATES IRAN’S REVOLUTIONARY GUARD COMMANDER IN STRIKE, SAYS IRANIAN MEDIA</a>
“Once they go that route, it’s too late,” Netanyahu said. “We will have a second Holocaust — a nuclear Holocaust. We already had one in the previous century. The Jewish state is not going to have the Holocaust on the Jewish people. Never again is now, and we have to act now.”
Netanyahu said he gave the Iranians a chance to make a nuclear deal with Trump, but it became clear to both him and the United States that Iran was not serious.
“They basically strung everyone along and it was clear to us that the talks were going nowhere,” Netanyahu said.
According to the Israeli Defense Forces, one-third of Iranian missile launchers have been destroyed, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/live-updates-israel-strikes-iran?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Daily+Wire&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=LIVE+UPDATES%3A+Israel+Destroys+A+Third+Of+Iran%E2%80%99s+Missile+Launchers%2C+Claims+Control+Of+Air+Over+Tehran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Netanyahu announced</a> on Monday that the Israeli Air Force “controls the skies over Tehran.”

Nimitz and refueling aircraft

U.S. Military On The Move: Strike Group En Route To Middle East Amid Israel’s Iran Offensive

U.S. Navy

There are enormous threats on the world stage. Those threats can be mitigated by President Trump. Or, through lack of clarity, they can grow worse. 
Just before the Memorial Day Weekend, Vice President JD Vance spoke at the Naval Academy. He suggested that President Trump&#8217;s visit to the Middle East, in which he visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, was designed to recapitulate an American foreign policy that is based on a realistic assessment of what the world looks like.
He explained, “I actually think the most significant part of that trip is that it signified the end of a decades-long approach in foreign policy, that, I think, was a break from the precedent set by our founding fathers. We had a long experiment in our foreign policy that traded national defense and the maintenance of our alliances for nation-building and meddling in foreign countries’ affairs, even when those foreign countries had very little to do with core American interests.”
The Vice President was presumably arguing against the war in Iraq. The war in Afghanistan is a bit of a different story, since originally the war in Afghanistan was launched on the back of 9/11, so it was, in fact, a core American national interest to defenestrate the regime that had protected Osama bin Laden in the aftermath of the murder of 3,000 Americans.
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Vance suggested that American foreign policy has to be focused on countering our peer adversaries: “Our government took its eye off the ball of great power competition and preparing to take on a peer adversary, and instead we devoted ourselves to sprawling, amorphous tasks like searching for new terrorists to take out while building up faraway regimes. Now, I want to be clear. The Trump administration has reversed course. No more undefined missions, no more open-ended conflicts. We&#8217;re returning to a strategy grounded in realism and protecting our core national interests. Now, this doesn&#8217;t mean that we ignore threats, but it means that we approach them with discipline and that when we send you to war, we do it with a very specific set of goals in mind. And consider how this played out in just the last major conflict we engaged in, with the Houthis over in the Middle East. We went in with a clear diplomatic goal not to enmesh our service members in a prolonged conflict with a non-state actor, but to secure American freedom of navigation by forcing the Houthis to stop attacking American ships. And that&#8217;s exactly what we did.”
The Houthi example is a very interesting one for him to use, because the reality is that the Houthis have not ceased their activities in the Red Sea. Originally, we did not define our battle against the Houthis as simply restoring deterrence with regard to Houthi attacks on American ships; the goal was to restore freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. The goal was to ensure that people could use the Red Sea through the Suez Canal in order to ship things, including oil and LNG, from the region.
That has not been restored. The Houthis are still shooting a couple of missiles a day over Saudi Arabian airspace at Israel. And shipping has still not been restored in the Red Sea.
Now, I don&#8217;t disagree with anything that Vance is saying on the surface. But the use of the Houthis is a telling example, because one of the things that is an open battle in this administration, which we all need to keep our eye on, is what this sort of language obscures.
What is the actual policy of the Trump administration? Is it a policy that makes sure to actually set red lines that are keepable? The Vice President suggests that every mission has to have an exit strategy with an end in sight, saying, “Past leaders sent our service members on mission after mission with no exit strategy, no end in sight, and with little articulation for the American people or for the warfighters about what we were doing.”
All of that sounds really nice. The reality is that foreign policy is a lot messier than that. So, for example, the United States currently has troops stationed in South Korea. Why? That is an open-ended conflict. There&#8217;s an armistice with North Korea, and the United States is, in fact, maintaining the peace in the region between South Korea and North Korea by having a trigger force there.
The United States still has military bases in Japan. Why? Presumably to deter a Chinese takeover of the South China Sea. The United States still has overflight and overwatch power over the Middle East. Why? To ensure the free flow of oil, for example, and to prevent, I assume, the nuclearization of Iran.
This kind of easy notion that the United States can simply, in pinpoint fashion, define our conflicts and get in and get out is not the way actual foreign policy really works.
If you believe that we are now living in a much more dangerous world than we were previously, that&#8217;s going to require a larger commitment to military spending. A safer world, a world in which free trade actually applies, in which you do have freedom of navigation, in which economic growth is the norm, in which the United States has trade capacity and commerce; in which global growth is the norm — all of that is maintained, in the end, by the credible threat of the use of the American military.
That&#8217;s the reality of the situation. That&#8217;s always been the reality of the situation. The notion promoted by some on the more isolationist side of the Republican aisle — that if the United States basically defines in pinpoint fashion its own military engagement, the rest of the world will simply comply — is not the way the rest of the world works.
That&#8217;s been true all along. There&#8217;s a very famous story about George Washington at the Constitutional Convention. There was a constitutional delegate who suggested that the standing army of the United States should be limited to 5,000 men. The reason was that there were a lot of members of the founding generation who didn&#8217;t like the idea of a standing army on the national level. And George Washington would have to fend off the British with an army of essentially irregular soldiers, militiamen, whom he had to cobble together throughout the Revolutionary War.
The constitutional delegate proposed a 5,000-man cap on the army in the actual Constitution. George Washington agreed. And then he sarcastically said that there had to be a stipulation added to the Constitution that no invading army could number more than 3,000.
Of course, the joke he was making is that, when it comes to foreign policy, necessity is the mother of policy.
So you can have all of these principles that we all hope to have about “no open-ended missions,” “no long-term commitments.” The reality is that in a world in which the United States refrains from any long-term commitment and refrains from flexible policy, what you end up with is more red lines crossed.
And so the question becomes, for the administration, how strong are the administration&#8217;s red lines, and what happens when those red lines are crossed? When it came to the Houthis, the United States drew a red line. Originally, it was about freedom of navigation.
That freedom of navigation has not, in fact, been restored.
You can make the case that shouldn&#8217;t have been the mission in the first place in the Red Sea. Fine. But that was not actually the mission. The ends were shifted in order to achieve some sort of titular end to a conflict so the United States could then go and pick up checks in Qatar.
Again, you can make the argument that that&#8217;s a good policy or that it&#8217;s not a good policy, but let&#8217;s be clear about what happened there.
Right now, America&#8217;s enemies are perceiving, at the very least, that there’s some play in the joints.
If President Trump had the foreign policy team from his first term in place, it wouldn&#8217;t be happening. Trump 1.0 was extremely predictable on foreign policy: If you crossed a red line, you would get punched in the face. If you did not cross a red line, we would negotiate with you. That was the foreign policy of the United States. 
There&#8217;s been debate inside the administration over whether Trump 1.0 was too hawkish.
But what America’s enemies see is that now might be a good time to push. That is certainly clear from Russia, from China, and from Iran. Russia. China and Iran are sensing weakness in the Trump administration&#8217;s approach. Russia has been stringing President Trump along while it ramps up its attacks on Ukraine. According to reports, China has now strengthened its ability to rapidly attack Taiwan. Iran, which has been weakened by Israel to its weakest point in decades, is stiffening its negotiating stance with the United States.
President Trump is a peace through strength president.
But that needs to be conveyed not just in words, but in actual forward posture, in military spending, in public statements.
Because the United States has spent the last 20 years being non-credible in its threats. And that needs to stop, as it did during President Trump’s first term.

Vice President Vance Speaks At U.S. Naval Academy Graduation Ceremony

Peace Through Strength Requires Actual Strength

JD Vance

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Thursday that he was moving a historic painting of Jesus back to a “place of prominence” at the Merchant Marine Academy after the Biden administration relegated it to the basement, he told The Daily Wire. 
Duffy said in a video addressed to midshipmen that the World War II-era painting “Christ on the Water,” which depicts Jesus Christ appearing to sailors adrift at sea, would be returning to its original location at the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. The Biden administration moved the painting from its decades-old location to the basement in 2023 after a complaint that its presence violated the Constitution. 
“We are moving Jesus out of the basement. To all the great midshipmen at the Merchant Marine Academy, you let me know how important this painting was to all of you,&#8221; Duffy said in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H0WJQyB83JA?si=rnn8AtzLAifg94VN%22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a>, which was shared with The Daily Wire. &#8220;Now, we all know it was taken out of a place of prominence and put in down in the basement.&#8221;
Duffy, whose Maritime Administration operates the academy, said he was working with leadership at the institution to facilitate the move.
“I worked with the Academy, and because this is such a historic painting, I’m announcing that through that work with the academy, this painting is going to go from the basement back to its place of prominence. It will be a moment to celebrate,” the devout Catholic said. 
<div id="attachment_920607" style="width: 759px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-920607" class="size-large wp-image-920607" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Screen-Shot-2025-05-12-at-10.18.22-AM-1-749x576.png" alt="" width="749" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Screen-Shot-2025-05-12-at-10.18.22-AM-1-749x576.png 749w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Screen-Shot-2025-05-12-at-10.18.22-AM-1-300x231.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Screen-Shot-2025-05-12-at-10.18.22-AM-1-768x590.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Screen-Shot-2025-05-12-at-10.18.22-AM-1.png 787w" sizes="(max-width: 749px) 100vw, 749px" />&#8220;Christ on the Water&#8221; by Lt. Hunter Wood, USMS</div>
&#8220;Christ on the Water&#8221; was completed in 1944 by artist Hunter Wood, who joined the Coast Guard just 10 days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Wood saw action in North Africa before working on a Coast Guard Combat Artist Unit. In 1947, his painting was installed at the Merchant Marine Academy’s Wiley Hall Elliot See Room. It was displayed at that location for almost 80 years, when the Biden administration moved it because of a complaint from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.  
Duffy said that the painting will be returned to its original location the Elliot See Room. Last month, he received a vigorous round of applause from midshipmen at the Merchant Marine Academy after he called for they painting to be restore to its original location. 
“Can we bring Jesus up from the basement?” Duffy said. “Let’s not put Jesus in the basement! Let’s get Him out! Let’s bring Him up!”
Mikey Weinstein, of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, has promised to start &#8220;World War Eight&#8221; if the painting is moved, calling Duffy a &#8220;piece of s***&#8221; for advocating for the move. Weinstein claims that displaying the painting violates the Constitution and forces Christianity on students. 
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ted-cruz-backs-trump-officials-attempt-to-bring-jesus-up-from-the-basement-literally">sent a letter</a> last week to Duffy, praising him for the plans to move the painting and noting that there were no Constitutional reasons to keep the painting out of public view. Cruz said returning the painting would be an important step to protecting America&#8217;s religious heritage.

Department Of Transportation Chief Sean Duffy Holds News Conference On Ongoing Issues At Newark Airport

The Biden Admin Banished This Historic Jesus Painting. Sean Duffy’s Moving It Back To Spotlight.

Biden Administration

Department of Transportation

Sean Duffy

World War II

President Donald Trump praised American troops as the &#8220;tip of the spear&#8221; in the fight against the &#8220;enemies of civilization&#8221; in a Thursday speech at an American military base in Qatar.
Trump made the comments to troops at the Al Udeid Air Force Base, the largest American military facility in the Middle East, before departing Qatar for the United Arab Emirates. In his speech, Trump laid out his priorities for the Middle East and promised that American troops would soon get a raise through his proposed budget bill.
“All of you are the tip of the spear, you&#8217;re the finest we have, anywhere in the world, you’re the finest we have, you’re the finest anyone has in the fight against the enemies of civilization,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;You’re the people that are defeating chaos, combating terror, defending our interests, supporting our allies, securing our homeland, and making America incredibly proud, and you know what, making America great again.”
Trump also promised the troops that he would make the U.S. military &#8220;bigger, better, stronger, and more powerful than ever.&#8221;
“You are without a doubt the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. That&#8217;s the way it is. I said it last night. I said it&#8217;s strong. We have the strongest military in the world. It&#8217;s not even a contest. We have the best equipment, nobody has equipment like us, nobody has the planes or the missiles or anything else,&#8221; he said. 
Echoing his speech on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, Trump said he was focused on keeping the peace by projecting American strength.
&#8220;As president, my priority is to end conflicts, not start them — but I will never hesitate to wield American power if it&#8217;s necessary to defend the United States of America or our partners. And this is one of our great partners right here,&#8221; Trump told the troops on Thursday.
The day before his speech, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-signs-major-defense-deal-with-qatar-despite-past-accusations-of-terror-financing?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Signs+Major+Defense+Deal+With+Qatar+Despite+Past+Accusations+Of+Terror+Financing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> a defense agreement with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, where the country signed a letter of intent to purchase $2 billion worth of MQ-9B Reaper drones and $1 billion in counter-drone technology. At the same time, Trump has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-defends-400-million-flying-palace-offered-as-gift-from-qatar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">faced criticism</a> over his acceptance of a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar.
In attendance at Thursday&#8217;s speech to the troops were comedian Theo Von and country music singer Lee Greenwood, who sang &#8220;God Bless America&#8221; before Trump took the stage.
Throughout his Middle East trip, Trump has signed defense agreements with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, announced billions of dollars worth of business deals with both countries, and met with the president of Syria, marking the first time the leaders from the two countries have met since 2000. Trump is now headed to the United Arab Emirates to meet with President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other top officials.

QATAR-US-DEFENCE-DIPLOMACY

Trump Praises American Troops In Qatar: ‘Tip Of The Spear’ Against ‘Enemies Of Civilization’

Air Force

Military

Qatar

Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders took a big step toward protecting her state from the Chinese Communist Party and other nefarious foreign agents.
She signed a bill demanding representatives acting on behalf of hostile foreign adversaries such as the People&#8217;s Republic of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea register publicly, disclose who bankrolls them, and spell out exactly what they are doing in Arkansas politics.
Although this foreign-agent registration is the first statute of its kind in the country, other legislatures should explore similar laws as a defense against hostile foreign actors and their agents covertly swaying policy or political activities at the state level.
Our country is facing a new kind of warfare waged through manipulation, money, and misinformation. Our adversaries are well-funded and coordinated, working relentlessly to sow division and destabilize our society. They’re attacking at the state and local level more and more, hiding behind layers of nonprofits and advocacy groups.
Take Students for Justice in Palestine, for example – a shadowy group that played a prominent role in riling up violent mobs on college campuses last year. This group and others like it (Within Our Lifetime, Jewish Voice for Peace, Palestinian Youth Movement, etc.) routinely accept secret money, raising concerns about potential support from hostile foreign actors.
Some of these organizations are not even registered as nonprofits, and alarmingly, many pro-Hamas groups have established local chapters on college campuses and receive funding from student activity fees.
The CCP perfected this playbook long ago. There are Confucius Institutes embedded on college campuses masquerading as language centers while disseminating the Party’s propaganda. Other groups such as Code Pink echo CCP talking points, attacking American energy policy and championing topics that align with China’s geopolitical objectives.
Research has shown that the CCP’s influence stretches far beyond college campuses. It targets state pension funds, critical infrastructure, farmland near military bases, and even municipal procurement of drones and surveillance tech. Every contract, endowment, or protest it bankrolls is another opportunity to steal American intellectual property, map supply chains, and erode public trust.
It’s no surprise the Federal Bureau of Investigation has labeled the Chinese Communist government a “grave threat to the economic well-being and democratic values of the United States,” and national security agencies from some of our top allies have warned the CCP is engaging in the most “sophisticated theft of intellectual property and expertise in human history.&#8221;
Arkansas has taken the first step in combating this foreign interference. The law will shine a spotlight on every foreign‑funded front group operating in the state. Agents who fail to register face stiff penalties; those tied to hostile nations risk even higher fines.
<div id="attachment_916433" style="width: 875px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-916433" class="size-large wp-image-916433" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-468385788-865x576.jpg" alt="DustyPixel. Getty Images." width="865" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-468385788-865x576.jpg 865w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-468385788-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-468385788-768x511.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-468385788-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-468385788-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-468385788-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-468385788-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 865px) 100vw, 865px" />DustyPixel. Getty Images.</div>
The new law also strengthens campaign finance disclosure laws, exposing individuals and organizations seeking to undermine democratic values through covert influence operations. The law is singularly focused on hostile foreign actors; international businesses and lobbyists representing allied nations are unaffected.
It is encouraging that this effort is also a part of a larger “Communist China Defense” suite of bills from Governor Sanders, with proposals to divest state resources from China and ban land purchases near critical infrastructure.
These measures are a timely reminder that safeguarding our communities begins in the statehouse, not just in Washington. Other legislatures should move quickly to adopt similar protections and fortify America’s democracy and sovereignty against those determined to erode them.
 * * *
Joe Gebbia is the CEO and Founder of State Shield, an organization dedicated to educating state leaders and uniting state and federal efforts to combat the growing threat the Chinese Communist Party poses to America’s security, supply chains, and core values.
The views in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Conservatives Gather For Annual CPAC Conference In Washington DC

Arkansas Strikes First Blow Against Foreign Influence In U.S. Politics

Arkansas

China

College

Foreign Funding

North Korea

Real estate

Russia

Sarah Huckabee Sanders

The Army confirmed on Friday that a massive military parade featuring 6,600 soldiers, 150 vehicles, and 50 helicopters will be held on President Donald Trump&#8217;s 79th birthday as part of the service&#8217;s 250th anniversary celebration.
The parade will follow a route from Arlington, Virginia, to the National Mall and has been submitted for classification as a &#8220;national special security event,&#8221; bringing additional federal resources to secure the area, PBS <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/army-confirms-military-parade-for-its-250th-anniversary-will-be-held-on-trumps-birthday">reported</a>.
White House officials confirmed the commemorative parade would be one of the first events to kick off a yearlong celebration of the nation&#8217;s 250th anniversary planned through July 4, 2026.
&#8220;The Army is celebrating its 250th Birthday with multiple events leading up to June 14,&#8221; the Army <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/7000-troops-tanks-parachute-jumps-military-parade-coinciding/story?id=121410722">said</a> in a statement Friday evening. &#8220;The national level celebration will include a spectacular fireworks display, a parade, and a day-long festival on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The festival will feature displays of Army equipment, military demonstrations, musical performances, and a fitness competition.&#8221;
&#8220;Parade planning is actively underway, and we anticipate approximately 150 vehicles, 50 aircraft, and 6,600 Soldiers to highlight the Army’s 250 years of service to the nation,&#8221; it added.
President Trump has advocated for a military parade since witnessing France&#8217;s Bastille Day celebration in 2017, with White House-Pentagon discussions for this event beginning just two months ago. The parade fulfills Trump&#8217;s vision that was previously unrealized when a similar plan during his first term was reportedly cancelled.
According to military planning documents <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-army-military-parade-birthday-2f5cd12c8ccd4efddc29bfa3cf8f2705">obtained</a> by the AP, the massive display will include soldiers from at least 11 corps and divisions nationwide, and Stryker vehicles, tanks, Bradley vehicles, Paladin artillery, and Howitzers are expected in a display of American military power.
Army spokesman Steve Warren stated the Army is looking at options &#8220;to make the celebration even bigger, with more capability demonstrations, additional displays of equipment, and more engagement with the community.&#8221; The late afternoon parade will be followed by a parachute jump by the Golden Knights, a concert, and a &#8220;spectacular fireworks display.&#8221;
Beyond military units, the parade is expected to include civilian participation with historical vehicles, aircraft, representatives from veterans groups, military colleges, and historical reenactor organizations.

The Inauguration Of Donald J. Trump As The 47th President

Army Announces Massive 250th Anniversary Parade To Be Held On Trump’s Birthday

Military parade

Patriotism

U.S.

At a time when the Pentagon is finally waking up to the physical collapse of our armed forces, Texas has a unique opportunity to lead.
In March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sounded the alarm with <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4118161/rapid-force-wide-review-of-military-standards/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a directive</a>: Military standards have dangerously eroded. “Our adversaries are not growing weaker,” he wrote. “Our tasks are not growing less challenging.”
He ordered a department-wide review of physical fitness, grooming, and readiness standards and <a href="https://x.com/SecDef/status/1907509325804798454" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently stated</a>, “For too long, we’ve allowed standards to slip within the ranks for men and women serving in combat MOSs. This is unacceptable and over.”
He also welcomed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the Pentagon, pledging to ensure our warfighters are “healthy and fit to fight.” These moves reflect a growing recognition of the military’s readiness crisis — and that rebuilding a warrior culture requires action, not speeches.
Texas is answering that call.
The Texas Military Forces Health and Readiness Act (House Bill 4993) is a no-compromise legislative initiative to restore physical readiness, health, and resilience in the Texas Military Forces. It aligns with the Department of Defense’s renewed focus on standards and provides a battle-ready model that other states — and even the federal government — can adopt.
<h3>The Current Readiness Crisis And Systemic Failures</h3>
<div id="attachment_908487" style="width: 876px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-908487" class="size-large wp-image-908487" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2133324574-866x576.jpg" alt="EL PASO, TEXAS - APRIL 02: Texas National Guard soldiers transport border fencing layered with concertina wire near the Rio Grande river on April 02, 2024 in El Paso, Texas. Last week, hundreds of migrants seeking asylum clashed with Texas national guardsmen while waiting to turn themselves in to border patrol agents for processing. Texas continues awaiting a verdict on Senate Bill 4. Attorneys representing the state of Texas are scheduled to return to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on April 3 to continue arguing for the constitutional basis of the bill. Senate Bill 4 allows state law enforcement officials to detain and arrest undocumented immigrants suspected of illegally crossing into the United States. Thus far, all prior attempts to put the Bill into effect have been blocked by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)" width="866" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2133324574-866x576.jpg 866w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2133324574-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2133324574-768x511.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2133324574.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 866px) 100vw, 866px" />Brandon Bell/Getty Images</div>
The National Guard plays an increasingly vital dual role: it must respond to domestic crises and be ready to “fight tonight” in peer-level combat operations. Hegseth has emphasized the need to “match threats to capabilities.” But for states like Texas — where the Guard is expected to conduct disaster operations, support border security, and remain deployable worldwide — this mission cannot be met under current conditions.
This isn’t just about pushups. America’s military readiness crisis is real, and it’s gutting our combat capability across the force. Military readiness isn’t a slogan — it’s the bedrock of deterrence and victory. Yet today, 68% of U.S. service members are overweight or obese, according to a 2023 report by the American Security Project. Fitness-related health costs and lost duty time exceed $1.35 billion annually, directly sabotaging operational effectiveness. That’s bad enough for active-duty forces — but for the National Guard, the situation is catastrophic.
If active-duty service members with full access to resources are struggling, the situation for part-time National Guard forces is even more dire. In Texas, part-time Guardsmen train a fraction of the time compared to Active Duty. They are spread across vast distances, often without access to adequate training facilities, wellness programs, or basic fitness infrastructure. Unlike the Active Duty, the Guard operates with persistent disparities in funding, support services, and oversight. Wellness programs go underutilized, accountability is virtually nonexistent, and time for physical training is painfully limited. The result? A force on the edge of collapse — unfit, underprepared, and unable to meet the demands of today’s missions. This isn’t just a training problem. It’s a strategic liability.
<h3>The Army’s Food Scandal: A Symptom Of The Larger Collapse</h3>
Adding insult to injury is the military’s broken nutrition system. A January 2025 Military.com <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/investigations-and-features/2025/02/14/over-151-million-taken-soldiers-paychecks-food-costs-spent-elsewhere-army.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigation</a> found that the Army diverted over $151 million in food allowance payments from junior enlisted soldiers, with only 30% of those funds actually going toward meals. At Fort Cavazos in Texas, only $11.7 million of $42.5 million collected went to feed troops. Other bases relied on vending machines stocked with sugary snacks, or served meals of toast and lima beans — or no meals at all.
This isn’t just a logistical failure. It’s a betrayal of the trust and conditions necessary for building a capable, professional fighting force. For the National Guard, already starved of resources and time, this neglect is lethal. This is not a military prepared to win wars — it’s a hollow shell.
<div id="attachment_908491" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-908491" class="size-large wp-image-908491" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1928669611-864x576.jpg" alt="EAGLE PASS, TEXAS - JANUARY 12: National Guard soldiers stand guard on the banks of the Rio Grande river at Shelby Park on January 12, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. The Texas National Guard continues its blockade and surveillance of Shelby Park in an effort to deter illegal immigration. The Department of Justice has accused the Texas National Guard of blocking Border Patrol agents from carrying out their duties along the river. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1928669611-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1928669611-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1928669611-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1928669611.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Brandon Bell/Getty Images</div>
<h3>HB 4993: A Texas-Size Fix</h3>
HB <a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/html/HB04993I.htm">4993</a> is a Texas-sized solution to this national crisis. It creates a comprehensive, accountable system to rebuild readiness:
<ul>
<li>Statewide Fitness Access: State-funded gym memberships and access to certified civilian trainers ensure Guardsmen across Texas can train consistently, regardless of location.</li>
<li>Integrated Digital Platform: Service members get real-time fitness tracking, customized plans, injury prevention, and mental health tools in a secure app.</li>
<li>Comprehensive Wellness Services: The bill funds rehabilitation, nutrition counseling, mental health support, and family-based fitness programs, because force readiness starts at home.</li>
<li>Performance-Based Culture: Structured incentives, advancement pathways, and public recognition will restore the warrior ethos and reward excellence.</li>
<li>Transparency and Accountability: Quarterly reports to the Legislature, corrective action plans, and unit-level oversight. If readiness falters, the system adapts — now, not later.</li>
<li>Minimal Cost, Maximum Return: This initiative delivers a high-impact return at a fraction of the $1.35 billion national fitness-related losses. This is a high-impact, low-cost readiness reform that delivers immediate and lasting results — saving lives, taxpayer dollars, and national security. </li>
</ul>
<h3>Reinforcing National Readiness Priorities</h3>
For too long, the physical and mental health of our service members has been allowed to rot — not because of funding shortages, but because of cowardice, complacency, and a lack of standards. HB 4993 rejects that failure. It embodies the resolve to act decisively and reforge a professional force worthy of the missions it’s expected to carry out.
This is the moment for Texas to lead. HB 4993 supports the national call to “Make America Healthy Again” and hands other states a clear, scalable playbook. The health, fitness, and discipline of our military are not internal HR concerns — they are national security imperatives.
Readiness isn’t negotiable. It’s the prerequisite for effective deterrence, mission success, and survival in a world of growing threats. Texas is doing its part. Now the Texas Legislature must rise to the occasion — and show the nation what readiness, resolve, and responsibility really look like.
* * *
Ammon Blair is a Senior Fellow for the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s ‘Secure &amp; Sovereign Texas’ Initiative.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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