Democrat Party Squabbles Over U.S. Military

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has expressed a more measured approach to U.S. military spending compared to the fervent stance taken by Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in her recent Democratic National Convention (DNC) speech.

During her address, Harris passionately affirmed Israel’s right to self-defense and pledged to maintain America’s position as the world’s most formidable military power. “We will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world,” she declared.

In response, Sanders voiced a critical perspective on ABC’s This Week. Reacting to Harris’s statements, Sanders acknowledged the importance of a robust defense but emphasized his concerns about the current level of military spending. “With all due respect, the United States is currently spending more on defense than the next ten nations combined,” Sanders pointed out. “While I agree that we need a strong defense, there comes a point when enough is enough. The profits of military contractors are soaring, and I believe we can maintain a top-tier defense without pouring a trillion dollars a year into it.”

Sanders has consistently been a vocal critic of the Pentagon’s expanding budget, arguing that significant domestic needs should be prioritized over excessive military expenditures. In 2020, he proposed a 10% cut to the Pentagon’s budget, suggesting that the funds could be better used to provide raises for teachers. In 2023, Sanders opposed the defense budget, which had ballooned to $886 billion.

Harris’s forceful commitment to defense capabilities, as seen in her DNC speech, contrasts sharply with Sanders’s call for budgetary restraint. This divergence highlights a key debate within the Democratic Party about the balance between maintaining a strong military and addressing domestic priorities.