President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to rename the Department of Defense the Department of War. Pundits on both sides of political spectrum have said it's an unnecessary change that will burn up resources and erode America's standing abroad.
Former Undersecretary of Defense Robert Wilkie told Newsmax on Saturday that the rebranding of the department is about "the restoration of America's power."
"This is not Joe Biden. This is not Barack Obama who apologized for the United States. And I think that's the great change. It's more important than the change of name. And that is the restoration of America's power and the deterrent power of America," Wilkie said during an appearance on "The Count."
Wilkie, who also serves as co-chair for American Security at the America First Policy Institute, noted that the name change is reflective of the multiple conflicts that the U.S. continues to fight on a daily basis.
"Fentanyl kills 80,000 in one year. Twice as many people as we lost in 10 years of my father's war, Vietnam.
"It is a threat. It is a mortal threat to the United States. And the president has sent a message to Central and South America, and particularly to Mexico and to China, that it has to stop. And he will do everything he can.
"The rules of the road have changed," he added.
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James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.