Trump Administration Needs Full Credit For Recruiting Surge

Since Trump’s election, Americans have witnessed a miraculous turnaround in military recruiting. Recruiting went from historically low numbers to the highest level of recruiting in decades. Despite this unambiguous success, Democrats and mainstream media mouthpieces have refused to give credit to Trump. Instead, we are experiencing the ultimate in gaslighting.

The media outlet National Security Journal (NSJ) is one of many in claiming “Real Reason US Military Recruiting Numbers are surging” is not due to Trump’s efforts.Instead, NSJ would have us believe recruiting is up now primarily due to reasons like an alleged slow economy or the US not being at war (National Security Journal, Dec. 14, 2025)

In another article, the NSJ credits a Biden era initiative of the Army allowing substandard recruits to attend a pre-course before basic training as bringing on a recruiting surge. (National Security Journal, Dec. 14, 2025)

Another NSJ article claimed US Navy recruiting success under Trump was due to Biden era higher pay and a Navy pre-course before basic. (National Security Journal, October 27, 2025)

If we are going to prevent another Biden era recruiting catastrophe, we must demand the truth.

First, all the data leads to the clear conclusion that Biden virtually destroyed recruiting with wokeness and ideological extremism, and Trump policies have restored it. Upon taking office, the Biden administration ordered transexual service to be reinstated. Then Biden mandated funding for sexual transition in the military. Within days of Biden taking office, the military was given a “stand down” order to combat alleged right-wing extremism, wasting millions of troops man-hours and destroying morale. The alleged extremism was later found to be non-existent. (National Review, Jan. 2, 2024)

“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) exploded in size and reach within DOD under Biden. White male troops were stigmatized and minorities taught to believe the military was racist. The administration forced thousands of troops out for refusing to take the COVID vaccine. Military families started openly dissuading their children from serving in a perceived woke military.

Early in the Biden Administration, the National Independent Panel on Military Service and Readiness (NIPMSR), an eight-person panel led by then Congressman Mike Waltz (R-FL), published a shocking poll: Sixty-eight percent of active-duty members witnessed progressive politicization within the military during the Biden administration, with sixty-five percent being somewhat or very concerned about it. Trust within the military decreased 80% due to Biden opening transgender service. Biden’s reduction of physical fitness standards to “even the playing field” caused 70% to lose trust. Think tank VP Derrick Morgan warned: “the timing for (NIPMSR) could not be more important given that fiscal year 2022 was the worst year for recruiting since the advent of the all-volunteer force.” 

(Heritage Foundation, Jan. 12, 2023)

In July 2022, Lt. General Thomas W. Spoehr (USA, ret) warned of the damage: “Wokeness in the military affects relations between the military and society at large. It acts as a disincentive for many young Americans in terms of enlistment. And it undermines wholehearted support for the military by a significant portion of the American public at a time when it is needed the most….. These ideological policies move the military in a divergent direction from the American mainstream.…. The bottom line is that precious time and money are being poured into woke programs and projects that would be better applied towards making the military more capable. The billions of dollars that will be spent on Pentagon climate change programs, the time and money spent in creating DEI structures and hiring DEI commissars, and the time spent indoctrinating servicemembers in critical race theory and addressing an imaginary crisis of extremism in the ranks—all this detracts from the purpose of our military….. If Americans perceive that the military is being exploited for political purposes or being used for experiments in woke social policies, that support will evaporate, and the consequences will be dire.” (Heritage Foundation, Sept. 30, 2022)

Around the time of General Spoehr’s warning, servicemembers were speaking out about the crisis, as noted by Fox News: “(Servicemembers are) sounding the alarm over what they call a culture putting ‘wokeness’ before training and combat effectiveness…….. blaming that culture for its recruiting challenges, which have risen to a level unseen since it was transitioned to an all-volunteer force. ‘The military is extremely woke,’… ‘I do perceive the Army leadership as woke’ The service members……. almost universally shared a similar sentiment, with many noting that senior members who speak out on the issue risk their careers or retirement pensions. ‘Merely questioning the goals or methods used to promote ‘Equity & Diversity’ is punished and that punishment is swift, harsh, and public,’ one service member said.” (Fox News, Oct. 11, 2022)

The Biden pre-course for substandard recruits to prepare for Basic Training began in 2022, and so cannot explain the recruiting surge after Trump was elected. The economy was terrible under Biden and few troops deployed to war during Biden’s time, so those reasons can’t explain the recruit surge. Trump demanded wokeness and DEI end and the Warrior Ethos to be restored. Trump has brought resounding military successes, like the destruction of Iran’s nuclear sites. That’s the answer.

We must never again experiment with the Biden era woke progressive extremism which almost destroyed the all-volunteer military and must maintain the Warrior Ethos. In 2 Timothy 2:4 Paul admonishes with what we should heed: “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.”

Col. Bill Connor——Bio and Archives – Col. Bill Connor is a retired U.S. Army Infantry officer, attorney, and founding partner of NATIONAL DEFENSE CONSULTANTS, LLC. While in the Army, Connor logged multiple deployments to the Middle East, and he has commanded both light Infantry and Ranger training companies. From 2007 through 2008 he was deployed to Afghanistan where he became the senior U.S. military adviser in Helmand Province. Since the start of the October 2023 war in Israel, he has provided analysis to NEWSMAX.