11/5/15: Donald Trump, Who Claims To Be The “The Best In Terms Of The Military,” Confused The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter With The B-3 Long Range Strike Bomber. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who claims to be the ‘the best in terms of the military,’ confused the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program with the B-3 Long Range Strike Bomber program. Radio host Hugh Hewitt asked Trump if America needs a strategic bomber or ‘should we just stick with submarines and missiles?’ Trump then criticized the beleaguered F-35 program. [Daily Caller, 11/5/15] • 11/5/15: Donald Trump Continued To Confuse The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter With The B-3 Long Range Strike Bomber, Even After Hugh Hewitt Attempted To Correct Him. “Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who claims to be the ‘the best in terms of the military,’ confused the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program with the B-3 Long Range Strike Bomber program. Radio host Hugh Hewitt asked Trump if America needs a strategic bomber or ‘should we just stick with submarines and missiles?’ Trump then criticized the beleaguered F-35 program. Hewitt asked, ‘Last week the Pentagon announced, they gave the B-3, the strategic bomber contract to Northrop Grumman. … Do we need a strategic bomber, Donald Trump, or should we just stick with submarines and missiles?’ … [Trump responded,] ‘When you talked about the bomber, here’s what I don’t like. I have been reading, and I read one article in particular, where the pilots, and these are great test pilots and pilots generally. But pilots in testing it, said our old planes are better,’ explained Trump. ‘They perform better, they handle better. Every aspect, they were saying, they’re better. So I’m saying wait a minute, if they’re better, why are we ordering these unbelievably expensive planes? So I would have some real problems because of cost, and I know I could get the cost down. But what bothers me tremendously is the fact that I heard test pilots saying that the old planes maneuver better, work better, and they like them better. That bothers me,’ insisted Trump. Hewitt responded, ‘A lot of people like the F-18 Super Hornet more than the F-35. But this B-3, the strategic bomber, I think we have to have a bomber.’ … Trump responded, ‘We do, and it’s got to be reasonable. … But you check this out. The pilots that were testing it did not like it as much as the old equipment. That’s not good. And I think you would agree with that, Hugh.’” [Daily Caller, 11/5/15] • 10/22/15: Donald Trump Said He Heard From A Test Pilot That The F-35 “Doesn’t Perform As Well As Our Existing Equipment.” TRUMP: “Well, I do want briefings, but I do hear that it’s not very good. I’m hearing that our existing planes are better [than the F-35]. And one of the pilots came out of the plane, one of the test pilots, and said this isn’t as good as what we already have. And to spend billions and billions of dollars on something that maybe isn’t as good, but, and I don’t know if you’ve heard that…. Yeah, well, I mean, big problems. They’re saying it doesn’t perform as well as our existing equipment, which is much less expensive. So when I hear that, immediately I say we have to do something, because you know, they’re spending billions. This is a plane. There’s never been anything like it in terms of cost. And how about, you know, we’re retooling with planes that aren’t as good as the ones we have, and the test pilots are amazing people. They know better than anybody, okay, and I think you would accept that.” [Hugh Hewitt Radio Show, 10/22/15] NUCLEAR TRIAD 12/16/15: Donald Trump Appeared No Not Understand The Concept Of America’s Nuclear Weapons ‘Triad’ But Said, “For Me, Nuclear – The Power, The Devastation Is Very Important To Me.” “When Donald Trump could not answer Hugh Hewitt’s question on the nuclear triad during the fifth GOP debate Tuesday night, Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) was kind enough to take the time to explain what the nuclear triad was to him and any other Americans who may not have known. Trump was asked to offer his opinion on which leg of the nuclear triad, decried by many as outdated, he believed was most crucial to update. The Republican frontrunner did not appear to understand the topic. In his original answer, Trump said it was important to have a strong leader with sound judgment during perilous times. He then trailed off to talking about opposing the Iraq War and how important limiting nuclear proliferation is. The response did not touch on Hewitt’s question, so he asked again. ‘I think for me nuclear – the power, the devastation is very important to me,’ Trump said in his second attempt.” [Free Beacon, 12/15/15] Trump Did Not Answer What His Priority Was Among The Nuclear Triad. HEWITT: “Dr. Carson just referenced the single most important job of the president, the command, the Confidential Page 83