Trump’s return to the White House has encouraged more Americans to join the military.
In December 2024, nearly 350 soldiers were recruited per day, shattering a 15-year record. In January 2025, the army also continued to shatter records, breaking the Biden administration’s appalling downward trend.
“Our Recruiters have one of the toughest jobs – inspiring the next generation of #Soldiers to serve.
“Congratulations and keep up the great work!” The U.S. Army posted on X.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth lauded the development, saying “America’s youth want to serve under the bold & strong “America First” leadership” of Donald Trump.
When Hegseth was appointed, he promised to dismantle woke policies in the military that discouraged brave men from enlisting. Trump also promised to rid the military of 15,000 transgender soldiers by declaring them unfit to serve.
“They would be medically discharged, which would determine that they were unfit to serve,” The Times reported.
Trump and Hegseth’s promise to end the transgender ideology angered the Left, which claimed it would discourage nonbinary individuals from joining an already understaffed military.
“It would also lead to a ban on trans people joining the military and would come at a time when almost all branches of the American armed forces are failing to meet recruitment targets.”
Nonetheless, Hegseth said removing woke ideology from the military would encourage the traditional military demographics to join, which has now been proven true.
“There aren’t enough lesbians in San Fransisco to man the 82nd Airborne Division,” Hegseth said. “…and in trying to cater to that, they lost the boys in Tennessee and Kentucky and Oklahoma. The traditional dudes who did it because they wanted, they loved their country, or they wanted the adventure, or they wanted to try tough things….”
He said most potential recruits took a wide berth at the military because they did not want to get involved in wokeism. “…if I wanted to do the woke cr*p, I could go to the local community college or local college. I don’t need it here.”
Under Biden, the military made many sacrifices, including introducing a program that assisted potential recruits in overcoming academic and physical fitness barriers, of course, without “sacrificing quality for quantity.” However, attempting to attract non-traditional demographics who need to be accommodated to serve already sacrifices the military’s preparedness and readiness. Hegseth and Trump promised to prioritize the military’s preparedness instead of identity.
In addition, the military carried out various outreach programs, which involved drag queens to attract potential non-binary recruits. Nonetheless, Biden’s military fell flat on its face in achieving recruitment targets, recording a 41,000 deficit in 2023.
However, it took the Trump administration barely two months to break a 15-year record without conducting recruitment campaigns. The only thing Trump did was rid the military of the destructive woke ideology that discouraged traditional recruits in favor of potential non-binary recruits in order to feel more welcoming.
Trump and Hegseth’s strategy seems to be working, and in a few years, the military will likely be turning down potential recruits due to over-enrolment.
