📢 $1 Trillion for the Pentagon? That's Not Security — That's Theft from the People
🗽Together, we can champion our rights, freedoms, rule of law, democracy, hold our leaders accountable to the people's will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.
📢 Together, we rise! Join 250,000+ activists—subscribe free or paid today and make your voice count!
When we talk about national security, we should be talking about what truly makes us safe: affordable health care, stable housing, good jobs, clean water, and strong communities. But once again, 34-time convicted felon President Donald Trump, the complicit cult of obedience known as the Republican Party, and MAGA extremists have twisted the definition of “security” into a bottomless pit for defense contractors. Trump is backing a Pentagon budget request that could top $1 trillion, diverting our public resources to weapons systems, war profiteers, and endless militarism — all while cutting essential programs like Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Head Start, SNAP, Veterans programs, and vital community services.
Let’s be clear: this is not safety. This is exploitation.
A Trillion-Dollar Illusion
Trump's proposed defense budget for fiscal year 2026 clocks in at $892.6 billion, a number that tops $1 trillion when including nuclear weapons, war spending hidden in other agencies, and the cost of caring for veterans of past wars (Breaking Defense, 2025). It’s the largest military budget in history, yet it’s being spun as a “cut” because it doesn’t grow fast enough to satisfy defense lobbyists.
Meanwhile, millions of Americans are barely hanging on. The cost of housing, health care, food, and electricity keeps rising, and our leaders are doing nothing to stop it. Instead, they seem more focused on digging even deeper into our pockets.
The very same MAGA Republicans pushing this military binge are also pushing brutal cuts to Medicaid, a lifeline for over 70 million people, including seniors, children, people with disabilities, and low-income families. (Rolling Stone, 2025)
How does this make sense? It doesn’t — unless your goal is to protect defense industry profits, not people.
The Psychology of Power and Fear
What drives these obscene Pentagon budgets isn’t real security, it’s fear, manufactured and monetized. Trump and his allies embrace a worldview that equates dominance with safety. In their minds, more weapons equals more control, and more control equals power. But this is not strength, it's insecurity wearing the mask of bravado.
And it’s politically convenient. Military spending rarely faces the scrutiny that social programs do. Few in Congress dare appear “weak on defense,” even when this bloated budget means fewer hospital beds, crumbling roads, and underfunded schools. The psychology here is simple: fear sells — especially when it enriches campaign donors.
The Truth About Waste
For every tax dollar sent to the Pentagon, less than half goes to troops or their families. The rest is funneled into weapons programs — many unnecessary, delayed, or plagued with failure. The F-35 fighter jet, for instance, is the most expensive weapons system in history, yet it still suffers from serious performance issues after more than 20 years of development (Forbes, 2025).
Pouring more tax dollars into the Pentagon hasn’t made us safer — it’s made us poorer. And it’s locked us into an endless arms race that benefits weapons makers, not working families (The Hill, 2025).
Fighting for Real Security
It doesn’t have to be this way. Across the country, people are rising up, demanding budgets that put people before Pentagon profits.
We can create real safety by investing in health care, housing, education, and green jobs. We can dismantle the war economy and reinvest in what sustains life. We can build foreign policy rooted in diplomacy, not drone strikes.
This Is a Moment for Movement
Power does not concede without a fight.1 The $1 trillion Pentagon budget is not inevitable, it’s a policy choice. A moral failure. A betrayal of our values and our people.
It’s time we the people fiercely advocate for a new definition of security — one rooted in justice, equity, and care. We won’t fund bombs while our people go without care.
Join us to show up, speak out, and build a future where safety means caring for each other. Because safety is not measured in bombs — it’s measured in how well we care for one another.
Today’s Calls to Actions
Your voice matters. Your action counts. Choose five ways to get involved—then pass it on to those you love. That’s how we win.
Hearts❤️, comments 💬, shares 📤, and likes 👍 on this post are always appreciated!
Click here to Denounce Trump’s Corrupt Air Force One Bribe
Click here to Investigate Trump's Efforts to Undermine Social Security
Click here to send a message to Congress: Stop the $5.5 trillion billionaire tax scam
Click here to Tell the House: No Cuts to Medicaid or SNAP
Click here to Send a message to your Member of Congress and tell them to champion progress on Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act and to not cut them!
Click here to Stop Trump's War Parade
Click here to Don't Force our Troops to March for Trump's Ego
Thanks for taking action!
Enough is enough. America doesn't do kings.
Donald Trump lost the popular vote twice, yet continues to rule as if crowned, defying court orders, targeting immigrants, slashing essential services, and demanding loyalty over law. Now he wants a $100 million military parade on his birthday, using taxpayer money to stage a show of intimidation, not celebration. While tanks roll down Pennsylvania Avenue, Trump and Republicans are gutting Social Security, SNAP, Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans Services—claiming there's no money for struggling families while handing tax breaks to billionaires. This isn't patriotism. It's authoritarian corruption in broad daylight.
But this moment isn't just about Trump—it's about all of us. If you're fed up with rising costs, civil liberties under assault, and daily attacks on our democracy, this is your moment to rise. Join us for No King's Day, a National Day of Action. Across the country, people will gather in streets, parks, rallies, and protests—showing up and speaking out. We'll declare in hundreds of cities and towns with one voice: Power belongs to the people. We rise not in fear but in solidarity, not for one man, but for all of us.
No King's Day on June 14th
Join the National Day of Action for No King's Day on June 14th
Click here to find a location near you on Mobilize
Click here to view on a map
Click here to signup to host an event for NO KINGS DAY
RISE UP
Looking to take action? Here’s a list of event calendars to help you find rallies, protests, and community actions near you. Please keep in mind: People Power United doesn’t verify or officially endorse events — we’re sharing them as tools for your research and organizing. Dive in, explore, and get involved where it feels right for you!
Shoutout to our changemakers!
I want to take a moment to thank everyone who’s been showing up, speaking out, and taking action to champion progress and power to the people. Your energy fuels this movement!
I also want to let you know about an upcoming change in our programming. We’ll soon be cleaning up our list to focus on those actively engaged in our work. People Power United is a grassroots group rooted in action—and we’re reserving our communications for those who believe in the power of change and take steps to help make it happen.
If you’ve been commenting, sharing posts, signing petitions, sending letters, or attending events—you’re exactly who we want to stay connected with. If someone hasn’t participated in any way, they will be removed from our list.
There are two reasons for this:
Our mission is to make change happen, and that takes action—not just observation.
We’re being penalized by Substack, Google, and other email providers when recipients aren’t engaging. It affects our ability to reach those who do want to be involved. As a grassroots group that does zero fundraising, we need to be able to reach our members.
Thanks so much for your continued support and understanding. Let’s keep building people power—together.
We are not just resisting—we are reclaiming, rebuilding, and rising. Let’s do it together.
With fierce resolve and people power,
Laurie Woodward Garcia
People Power United
Together, we can inspire progress and create a community where everyone can thrive!
Here is how you can stay connected to our work:
Click here to Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack.
Click here to Subscribe to our events and communications list.
📢 Together, we rise! Join 250,000+ activists—subscribe free or paid today and make your voice count!
Please note when People Power United uses the word “fight”—whether in writing, online, or in speech—we mean to fiercely advocate, never to incite or support violence. We do not condone violence in any form, nor do we promote breaking the law.
Our work is rooted in peaceful advocacy—through the exercise of our constitutional rights: free speech, peaceful assembly, rallies, protests, and acts of civil disobedience. These are the tools we use to defend our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and our democracy. And together, we will win.
On April 16, 1953 then President Dwight Eisenhower gave a speech titled " The Chance for Peace" where he stated the following...
"The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this, a modern brick school in 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some 50 miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a single fighter plane with a half million bushels pf wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people." Just think for a minute how many things could be funded TODAY for the cost of one of our multimillion dollar weapons of war.
Eisenhower, our highest ranking military member of the 20th century, was NOT a proponent of the military-industrial complex. He recognized that weapons of war were to fight actual battles and not become stockpiled like toys in a toy box or put on gaudy display which is how Trump views the military with "his" soldiers preparing to march in his glory parade with tanks and flyovers to prove to the rest of the world how powerful "we" are. The problem is anyone who knows anything at all about Trump knows he solely wants to show the world how powerful HE is
as he flips his digitus impudicus to the despots of the world for which military parades serve to demonstrate how powerful they are even as their citizens suffer from deprivation in many aspects if their lives. The cost of his parade is of no consequence to him even as budget cuts are being made that will harm millions of citizens. Eisenhower was not against military parades that TRULY honored military members for their service and sacrifice (a word unfamiliar to Trump); he WAS against abusing our soldiers and military resources for grandstanding to show the world how great "we" are. Eisenhower was NOT opposed to being militarily PREPARED to protect our freedom...he was opposed to using our military as a PRETENSION of power to show off to the rest of the world.
So happy to be connected. I have had difficulty finding your posts. All in now, then, and in the future!