Hours after the Trump administration formally announced its plans for a Space Force, the Trump Make America Great Again Committee sent an email asking supporters to vote on a logo to be displayed on merchandise for the proposed military branch.
The email offered six logos that will be featured on future Trump campaign gear. Once people vote on a logo, they are asked to make a donation to the Trump campaign.
The logos are styled like the mission patches created for space launches. All of them feature the phrase “Space Force” except for one, which reads, “Mars Awaits.” One of them resembles the NASA logo only with different colors.
https://twitter.com/evepeyser/status/1027642494413152257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Earlier on Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence detailed plans for the Space Force as a sixth military branch. “Our adversaries have transformed space into a war-fighting domain already, and the United States will not shrink from this challenge,” Pence said. “History proves that peace only comes through strength, and in the realm of outer space, the United States Space Force will be that strength in the years ahead.”
Pence outlined a plan that the Department of Defense will deliver to Congress, which must approve the creation of a new military branch. The Defense Department will ask Congress for $8 billion in space security systems over the next five years.
The U.S. Air Force is currently responsible for defending American satellites and spacecraft. In March, Trump broached the idea of moving that responsibility to a new and separate military command. In June, he made a speech calling for the new branch to be created, despite resistance from the Air Force.
Moments after Pence spoke, Trump expressed his support for the proposal with a tweet reading simply, “Space Force all the way!”
Space Force all the way!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2018
Trump’s critics outside the Republican party, however, took a less romanticized view of the idea of a space force, saying it could divert resources from areas like health care—or even flat out calling it a “dumb idea.”
Maybe, just maybe, we should make sure our people are not dying because they lack health insurance before we start spending billions to militarize outer space. #SpaceForce
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) August 9, 2018
The VP just announced a new military branch – a “Space Force,” because no R is willing to tell POTUS it’s a dumb idea. Although “Space Force” won’t happen, it’s dangerous to have a leader who cannot be talked out of crazy ideas. Elect D’s to check POTUS power.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) August 9, 2018
The idea of a Space Force has proven popular among Trump’s loyal base. At Trump events, “Space Force” has come a common rallying cry, with some Trump supporters wearing Space Force T-shirts in the crowds.
