Donald Trump is unveiling his plan for boosting defense spending and defeating the Islamic State as part of a renewed focus by his campaign on national security.
At a speech in Philadelphia, Trump is set to outline a number of proposals.
According to the campaign, they include:
- Asking military generals to present a plan within 30 days to defeat and destroy ISIS, immediately after taking office
- Asking Congress to eliminate the defense sequester
- Building an active Army of about 540,000
- Building a Marine Corps based on 36 battalions
- Building a Navy nearing 350 surface ships and submarines
- Building an Air Force of at least 1,200 fighter aircraft
The New York businessman, who has struggled at times to demonstrate a command of foreign policy, is outlining plans to "add substantially" to the nation's ar
senal of submarines, ships and combat troops. Trump's address comes hours before his national security acumen is tested at a "commander in chief" forum on NBC.
The appearances mark an intense, two-day focus on national security by Trump, who has offered tough rhetoric on America's challenges abroad but few details.
"I'm going to make our military so big, so powerful, so strong, that nobody -- absolutely nobody -- is gonna to mess with us," Trump says in a 23-second video posted on his campaign website.
The United States already spends more than $600 billion a year on the military.
Trump's rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton, has tried to paint the billionaire businessman as erratic, making the case that his disposition would be a major liability on the world stage.
"They know they can count on me to be the kind of commander in chief who will protect our country and our troops, and they know they cannot count on Donald Trump," Clinton said en route to Florida. "They view him as a danger and a risk."
Trump has pushed back on that characterization.
"I think my single greatest asset, of any assets I have, is my temperament," Trump declared in North Carolina on Tuesday.
While Clinton and Trump will be featured at the Wednesday night forum, they will appear at separate times and will not face each other on stage. The forum could serve as a warm-up to their highly anticipated first presidential debate, scheduled for Sept. 26 in New York.
Trump will deliver another speech Wednesday evening, at the convention of New York's Conservative Party, that's also expected to focus on national security.
A late morning address at Philadelphia's Union League will outline his plans to eliminate deep spending cuts, known as the "sequester," enacted when Congress failed to reach a budget compromise in 2011. Republicans and Democrats voted for the automatic, across-the board cuts that affected both military and domestic programs.
Trump has given mixed signals about whether he wants to increase military spending overall.
While Trump has often complained that U.S. forces are not large enough or well-equipped, he's also said that he'd save money by cutting waste and ensuring that contractors aren't getting sweetheart deals because of their connections or lobbying efforts.
His position on the sequester has been even more murky. Trump expressed support for the cuts in interviews in 2013 -- even describing them as too small -- but seemed to suggest at the time that military spending should be exempt, undermining the sequester premise.
A Trump adviser said Trump would ensure the additional spending is fully paid for.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton on Wednesday rolled out a list of endorsements from retired generals and admirals.
Clinton's campaign announced that she now has 95 retired generals and admirals backing her candidacy. That's more than the list of 88 retired military leaders that Trump's campaign announced on Tuesday.
Among Clinton's new supporters is retired General Lloyd Newton who served in the Air Force.