It's no surprise that enrollment in the U.S. military is up under President Donald Trump, Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., told Newsmax on Friday.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week posted on X that the Army had its best recruiting month in 15 years.
While appearing with co-hosts Sharla McBride and Marc Lotter on "Wake Up America," Bergman explained why young men and women are eager to serve.
"Well, take a look at a typical 18-year-old boy or girl. Which one of them wants to sign up for a losing team? None of them. They all want to be winners," he said. "Recruiting is up because all the goofiness. That's the kindest thing I can say. Some of it was mean intentionally, but the craziness that was going on [under the Biden administration] would cause not only the young 18-year-olds to go, 'Why would I want to be part of that?' but also their influencers, their teachers, their parents, their coaches, their pastors saying, 'You don't want to be part of the United States military.'
"Be proud wherever, whatever you join, whatever you consider joining, whether it's active, reserve, guard, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, Coast Guard, whatever it happens to be. But these youngsters want to be proud to be part of something and show people how good they are. That's what they got the opportunity to do right now."
Bergman, a Marine veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee, was asked about Hegseth's speech this week at NATO.
"As Hegseth said, 'there's no substitute for real, not just perceived power, but the kind of reality that our nation's military provides, not only for the safety and security of our citizens, but for the protection and support of our allies around the world,'" Bergman said.
"Donald Trump and his first presidency let that out to the European allies, good folks, but they needed to step up financially because the bad guys, and without naming names, but China, Iran, Russia, pick your other entity that wants to challenge us, only understand one thing, and that is lethality and strength. They don't respect anything else. Their values are different than ours, and we have to project that so that our NATO allies and other allies will make sure that they step up knowing that we got their back, but they have to invest in their own back."
Bergman also discussed Trump's effect in Washington, D.C., and on the world stage after less than four weeks in office.
"Positive excitement is the best two words to describe it," he said.
"To see what's happening here in D.C. under President Trump's leadership means we're taking the funds that are limited because it's taxpayer dollars and putting them where they need to be."
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Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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