The United States of America had a “Department of War” for 150 years, from 1789 through 1949. After World War II, there was a global realignment and many countries, including the US, changed the name of their departments/ministries of War to reflect what everyone hoped would be the last world war. That was when the “Department of Defense” became a thing, during the Truman administration. Truman and President Eisenhower oversaw the infrastructure of a complex post-war military industrial complex, but they both hoped that the infrastructure would be used for national defense rather than warmongering. It did not work out that way. And now the DoD is over – Donald Trump is renaming it.
President Trump will sign an executive order on Friday renaming the Department of Defense as the Department of War, the White House said, fulfilling the president’s pledge to realign the mission of the armed forces by reverting to a name used for over 150 years until shortly after World War II.
The measure, which has been expected for some time, underscores Mr. Trump’s efforts to reshape the military to align with his goals of projecting a more aggressive image by showcasing war-fighting capabilities.
As Mr. Trump has sought to show strength, rather than the “wokeness” that he and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth claim clouded the military’s morale and mission under former President Biden, he has often referred back to the country’s dominant role in global conflicts and complained that it has not been celebrated enough.
This is like the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico – completely pointless, stupid and offensive. It’s sort of astounding how these gross, weak, diapered men perform their masculinity for each other too – they believe “defense” sounds too “woke,” and they need to be bigly men with a War Department, swinging their d–ks around Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon makeup studio. I always think of the details involved with something like this too – like, how much does it cost to change all of the signs, stationary and paperwork?
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House. Trump is signing two executive orders Monday aiming to end cashless bail in Washington and nationwide, marking the latest move in the administration’s agenda to crack down on crime. Featuring: President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Pete Hegseth Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 25 Aug 2025 Credit: Al Drago/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- President Donald Trump chairs a cabinet meeting at the White House Featuring: President Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 26 Aug 2025 Credit: Aaron Schwartz/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- President Donald Trump chairs a cabinet meeting at the White House Featuring: President Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 26 Aug 2025 Credit: Aaron Schwartz/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
hopefully his pee pee will feel bigger now — that’s all I got.
It really is a bunch of losers with tiny members trying to make themselves feel important.
…Sadly, it really is
Project 2025 has talked about boosting the military and the orangutan administration recently proposed (but missed by news cycles) high schools that accept federal money be required to complete the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), the military’s entrance exam.
I’m not trying to be alarmist, but things like renaming the DoD seem stupid and superficial, but we should know better by now w Trump. He is a dangerous man and parents should be aware and vigilant that he is potentially going to use our kids as his pawns. He clearly does not care whose loves he gambles and he does not care about others
As a gen xer, many of our kids are at the age that the military can recruit or be drafted. This maniac and his party needs to be voted out. We all have to do our part to get him out of office
Is it because “defense” is too hard to spell after he’s tied on his morning drinks and “war” is easier?
Some days I look up at the sky and hope a large asteroid is heading toward us.
These idiots just want to play games!! We are so screwed!
I don’t think they want to play games. I think they want war. Civil war and world war. Then gun manufacturers can make millions, as can every disreputable and dishonest person within the entire administration. It’s not just the USA that gets screwed. It’s the entire freaking world.
They have absolutely no idea of what they are doing . It’s all a game to them. Yes they will start a war but then they will hide because they have absolutely no idea of what to do. That’s why I called it game playing. They think with the small brain between their legs because they haven’t got one in there head.
Canadian here, watching the the chaos your president is creating is more than semi-horrifying.
I watched a lot of the run up to the presidential election last year. Did Trump not proclaim that he’d be the bringer of peace? Blaming Biden for various wars? He’s such a lunatic!
How much longer until your next election?
As of this very moment…
165 weeks, 4 days, 14 hours, 43 minutes and 18 seconds.
Campaigning for a Nobel peace prize while acting like a war-loving dictator.
That’s what stood out to me when I heard this – how much will this rebranding cost?
I’m old enough to remember Maureen Dowd in 2016 writing a column about Donald the Dove, Hillary the Hawk. It was dumb then. Looks even dumber now, especially after he had the military blow up a cigarette boat off Venezuela that he said was carrying drugs. More likely, it was carrying migrants. But he considers extra judicial killing (also known as murder) like this a win for him either way. Government of sociopaths.
I even —vaguely — remember Trump campaigning on his plan to keep the United States out of wars, in his quest for a Nobel Peace Prize. I guess he’s given up that goal in his thirst for war. I’m deeply horrified by these murders that weren’t justified— because Trump didn’t feel he needed to. These murders should be called out on the front pages of every news site everywhere. It also makes his military moves into predominantly blue —and Black and Brown — cities even more ominous. All he needs to do to have the military kill people is to label them/us — or anyone he chooses — as “drug traffickers”. If he can do it without significant repercussions in international waters, he can view that as a warm-up for downtown DC and other urban areas. Someone who views the genocide in Gaza as a real estate opportunity is rehearsing for domestic plans as well. We are so f*cked.
Yep. He’s repurposing the “War on Terror” to apply to drug traffickers* so you better believe that he’s setting up to go after our “crime-ridden” cities that are “infested” with drug dealers and the unhoused. And I do believe violence against his own citizens is on the agenda.
FFS he’s arming U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and bringing military lawyers in from the Defense Dept to act as immigration lawyers, because we all know immigration law is easy and not complicated at all.
*we don’t even know if they were or not because there was no due process!
Our government just killed a bunch of civilians.
I don’t pretend to know what’s going on in that addled ol’ pumpkin head but the impression I’ve always gotten from Trump is that he doesn’t really like war because it’s messy, broadly unpopular, typically hard to spin as a “win”, and doesn’t actively benefit him–at least not in terms of personal enrichment–which is all he really cares about.
The “dove” characterization always enraged me because it implies that he’s proactively engaged in brokering peace between countries in a meaningful way. In reality, he tries to exploit global conflicts to make “deals” in a desperate attempt for good optics or to grab headlines. At the end of the day, everything is just a show to him and his views on foreign policy are entirely transactional.
ETA: @ Brassy-what he did in Venezuela was murder on the high seas, period. MURDER. Complete violation of international law. What happens when Hegseth thinks a terrorist is on a plane? Is he just gonna shoot it out of the fucking sky????
I seriously cannot believe that this incident isn’t more of a scandal. I hate it here.
The longstanding joke amongst allies is that the USA is late for war – in both WW1 and WW2.
Perhaps this Department of War is going to usher in a period of Peace – where bureaucracies are named opposite to their intent.
The USA is too busy imploding inwards to conduct a war effectively. These are not the Clinton years where one can declare war to distract from domestic issues. anymore.
Eh, it takes an Act of Congress to change it from DoD to ‘war’. Which is why his executive order says ‘rebrand’ NOT rename. And that Hegs can now use the title Sec of war, in addition to Sec of Defense.
Stupid waste of money to rub egos.
The Heritage Foundation, oops I mean Trump, wants to go to war on woke cities and turn this country into one large Bible belt with Prager U in charge of education for the peasants. That way, they’ll be free to bomb any country they want without interference or blowback. Hell, the uneducated peasants will cheer for war and death like they cheer for their favorite football team.
So the orange twerp can be a “war time president” and postpone an election or takeover facilities or cities?
The whole ‘no elections during wartime’ stuff is a lie–Lincoln was elected during the Civil War, FDR was elected for the 4th time during WWII, LBJ & Nixon were both elected during the Vietnam War.
You know Hegseth is drooling over starting a war with just about anyone. Invade Canada! Steal Greenland! Bomb El Salvador!
Yeah, unlike Dumpy, I actually do think Hegseth would love a war. He’s such a sick fucker that guy.
Hegseth is such a pathetic loser. I actually can’t believe he’s the secretary of defense.
This is my regularly scheduled reminder to all U.S. Celebitches to please have your “escape, fight, or survive” plan in place.
Ah yes, a bunch of men who have never served in the military getting off on war.
Trump has claimed he’s stopped 5/7/8/10 wars depending on what press
conference you are listening to. I haven’t heard one journalist asking him to name those wars. Dereliction of duty.
I hate these people. I’m thankful that my much-loved / much-missed West Point grad / Career Army father + Army Wife mother aren’t around for this shit.
Dad worked at Pentagon and with NATO for his last years in service. (Man, but he thought Rumsfeld was an ass + was not a fan of the Desert Storm parades, either). Who could imagine how much worse the Republicans would get?
“The War Room” in our lifetime. (“You can’t fight here! This is the War Room!” – Dr Strangelove)
“It’s sort of astounding how these gross, weak, diapered men perform their masculinity for each other too – they believe “defense” sounds too “woke,” and they need to be bigly men with a War Department,”
THIS. These guys are lame.
He still can’t do a pull-up.
🤭
🤮