President Donald Trump’s plan for a U.S. Space Force may sound a bit like science fiction, but like any good sci-fi franchise, it’s getting its own merchandise.
CNN reports that Trump’s 2020 campaign plans to produce merch for this “groundbreaking endeavor.”
“President Trump wants a SPACE FORCE — a groundbreaking endeavor for the future of America and the final frontier,” read an email from the Trump-Pence PAC, according to CNN. “As a way to celebrate President Trump’s huge announcement, our campaign will be selling a new line of gear.”
As the Inquisitr previously reported, today Vice President Mike Pence delivered a speech at The Pentagon where he said that this new military arm would be established by 2020. He claimed that the Space Force has become necessary because space has become more adversarial because of competition from China and Russia. He also called the cosmos the next “battlefield where America’s best and bravest will be called to deter and defeat a new generation of threats.”
Vox reports that Trump and Pence also claim that both of these countries have experimented with technology that can shoot down satellites which further explains the rationale behind their push for a Space Force.
According to Vox, the Pentagon seemed to not be enthusiastic about the Space Force last year, but they might be warming up to it, given Pence’s address there today. But the proposal will have to get through Congress and they have not shown enthusiasm for it.
CNN reports that the Department of Defense submitted a report to Congress detailing their call for a U.S. Space Command. Sources told CNN that this military arm will incorporate military resources that are already in existence. They will, however, need Congress’ approval for funding
Trump tweeted that he’s all for the Space Force as he wrote, “Space Force, all the way” to his 53.6 million followers. The tweet currently has 50,000 likes and 13,000 retweets.
Space Force all the way!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2018
Brad Pascale, the head of the Trump 2020 campaign, included proposed logos for the space force in the email and invited votes on which one should be chosen for the merchandise, The Verge reports. Each of the logo options looks like the space graphics that are often designed for rocket launches. As The Verge notes, one of them resembles the official NASA logo, except it’s in different colors. Also, one of the logos says “Mars Awaits,” but the Space Force wouldn’t have anything to do with travel to Mars. It has more to do with the protection of American satellites.
