"A Message Of Victory": Trump On Renaming Pentagon To Department Of War

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order renaming the Department of Defense as the “Department of War”, reviving a title last used in the 1940s. The order, issued on September 5, allows the Pentagon to use the label as a “secondary title” until Congress approves the permanent change.

Linking Renaming To Afghanistan Withdrawal

During the announcement, Trump turned again to one of his most frequent criticisms of the Joe Biden administration, the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021. He called it the “most embarrassing day in the history of our country”.

Referring to the deadly suicide bombing at Kabul's Abbey Gate, which killed more than 100 Afghan civilians and 13 US soldiers on August 26, 2021, Trump said, “I think it was the most embarrassing day in the history of our country, the way that happened, the way they went to the wrong airport. They should have gone to Bagram, the local little airport with no security, with tight quarters. You know what happened. I think it was the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country. Frankly, that was under the Biden administration. It was terrible.”

He added, “We were leaving with strength and dignity. We were going to keep Bagram. Bagram is one hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons. We're going to have that all to ourselves. A big, beautiful place built many years ago for money that today would be the equivalent of billions of dollars. And we just walked away from it. So stupid. And they were fools. The people were fools.”

A Long-Standing Criticism Of Biden

This is not the first time Trump has attacked the former president over Afghanistan. He has consistently described the withdrawal as a disaster and accused Joe Biden and former vice president Kamala Harris of bearing direct responsibility for the loss of American lives.

In 2024, before returning to the White House for his second term, Trump told podcaster Lex Fridman that Biden and Harris were “personally responsible” for the deaths of 13 US troops. “It was just like they pulled the trigger,” he said, according to The New York Post.

The same year, Trump, on Truth Social, declared that Biden and Harris had “blood on their hands for the incompetent Afghanistan withdrawal — the most embarrassing day in US history.”

Why Trump Says The ‘Department Of War' Matters

Beyond the Afghanistan withdrawal, Trump said the new name was meant to signal “victory” and “strength.” “I think it sends a message of victory. I think it sends a message of strength. We're very strong. We're much stronger than anyone would really understand,” he said, citing advanced US military capabilities such as submarines.