On September 30, US President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth spoke before hundreds of generals and admirals at the Quantico Marine Corps base in Virginia. 

The meeting attracted great attention as it took place just hours before the deadline for the US Congress to reach a budget agreement, avoiding the risk of a government shutdown.

At the beginning of his speech, Donald Trump seemed to anticipate the silence in the room. He joked: “I’ve never walked into a room that was so quiet,” which made the audience laugh. He also joked that anyone who didn’t like his message could leave the room but would have to “leave their rank and their future.”

Over the next hour, Mr. Trump repeatedly repeated familiar topics, from immigration policy, trade to national security. Notably, he called on the military to immediately use American cities with high crime rates as training grounds. “We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for the military,” he emphasized.

President Donald Trump is greeted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth before addressing a meeting of senior US military commanders at Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia on September 30. Photo: AP.

While the military is primarily designed to deal with external threats, President Donald Trump has emphasized the ability to use troops to conduct operations at home. “The enemy is within, and we have to deal with it before it gets out of control,” he said, referring to criminals and undocumented immigrants.

Not stopping there, Mr. Donald Trump went further when he announced that he wanted to expand the armed forces. “We are thinking about expanding the force… because you can select the best people, and they all want to join.” He emphasized that eliminating those who are not physically or mentally fit is necessary to improve the military’s strength.

At times, Donald Trump proudly asserted that he had made a difference in military recruitment after the election. “One election makes a real difference,” he said.

Near the end, the US president described the meeting with the generals as “good” and “unprecedented”, but admitted that the cost of summoning hundreds of generals from around the world was not small. “It is a little expensive… We don’t want to waste that money and actually would rather spend it on ammunition and missiles,” he said.

According to CNN , some sources also expressed concern about the cost of having to bring hundreds of generals and assistants to Virginia in a short time. The airfare alone could cost millions of dollars. What is confusing is that the generals were asked to be present in person, while the entire speech will also be streamed online.