President Donald Trump floated the idea of having a national Space Force during a speech at a California military base Tuesday.
Trump addressed a crowd of Marines at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego and brought up his idea of sending Americans into space for national security reasons.
"In space, the United States is going to do Col. John Glenn proud," Trump said. "We are finally going to lead again.
"My new national strategy for space recognizes that space is a war fighting domain, just like the land, air, and sea. We may even have a Space Force. We have the Air Force. We will have a Space Force."
It was not entirely clear if Trump was joking about the idea or being serious, because he then referenced the "fake news" media writing stories about the Space Force.
"From the very beginning, many of our astronauts have been soldiers and sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines," Trump said. "And our service members will be vital to ensuring America continues to lead the way into the stars. We are going to lead the way in space. We are way, way behind, but we are catching up fast. So fast that nobody even believes that."
Earlier Tuesday, Trump viewed eight border wall prototypes that were built last fall in San Diego, a short walk from the U.S.-Mexico border.
Former President Ronald Reagan started the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) in 1984, an effort that studied futuristic weapons such as lasers and particle beam weapons. The program was designed to develop tools to defend the U.S. against nuclear missiles, but it was mocked as a "Star Wars" effort.
The SDI dissolved in 1993.
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