(USNewsMag.com) – During a Jan. 20 rally in New Hampshire, former President Donald Trump told his supporters he would build an “iron dome” missile defense system, similar to the one Israel uses, over the U.S.
Trump stated that if he wins in 2024, he will build “a state-of-the-art missile defense shield,” adding that it would all be manufactured in the United States.
The Iron Dome, Israel’s defense system, is used routinely to stop rockets launched during the war between Israel and the Hamas terrorists.
The comment follows a statement made by Trump on Jan. 19 when he said an iron dome would “prevent World War III.” He added, “We’ve never been so close.”
On Jan. 21, he explained how Israel’s defense system works, stating that after reports of a missile launching, “geniuses” do what they need to on a keyboard in only 17 seconds.
This is not the first time Trump has mentioned ensuring the U.S. gets an iron dome if he is re-elected. In November, during a campaign stop in Orlando, Florida, he stated he would build an iron dome “To protect our citizens from foreign threats,” adding, “We need it.” During a campaign stop in Iowa in December, he said the U.S. gives other countries “billions of dollars” to build iron domes while the U.S. does not have one.
According to a report by NBC News, after spending hundreds of billions of dollars and investing decades of research into missile defense development, the U.S. military has only had limited results. While the U.S. and other countries, such as Israel, have gotten good at shooting down short-range missiles, they have minimal capacity to stop longer-range missiles. A former National Security Council official, John Erath, said that while the missile defense systems are “doing really good work on protecting civilians” in Israel, as well as in Ukraine, those systems are “far different” from what would be needed to defend the U.S.
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