Ahead of President Donald Trump’s signing ceremony for the One Big Beautiful Bill, a flyover featuring a B-2 bomber and two F-35s took place in honor of U.S. military personnel, including those involved in Operation Midnight Hammer.
The spectacle marked a turning point in national morale and military prestige, Trump said moments later in an address that highlighted American pride, enlistment increases, foreign policy developments, and recent military success.
“That is some sight, especially after what happened just a week ago, when you look at that big, beautiful plane and the other ones…, it was an incredible mission. I think I can say very proudly, and I don’t have to quote the polls, that our country is more proud right now than it’s been in many, many years.”
Trump celebrated the surge in enlistment numbers as a sign of restored confidence in the military:
“Our military now is the most sought after job there’s ever been. One year ago, people didn’t want to join our military. They didn’t want to join our police, our firefighters, they didn’t want to join anything having to do with our country,” he said/
“And now, the enlistment is at an all time record. We’re packed. We’re full.”
He also pointed to his recent trip overseas as further evidence of America’s rising global stature:
I will say that I just left NATO, where we had a tremendous experience. They’ve agreed to put up over a trillion dollars a year. They went from less than 2% to 5% and nobody thought that was possible. And they told me very strongly, the leaders of a big part of the world—respected people all— one year ago, your country was dead, and now you have the hottest country anywhere in the world.
Trump added, “So that’s the way it is, and that’s the way we like it, and it’s only going to get hotter. I promise you that.”
After the aerial tribute, Trump expressed gratitude to the military and reaffirmed a sense of national unity.
“After that spectacular display of American power, let me just say: God bless the United States military, and God bless the USA. This spirit in this country—we haven’t seen anything like it in many, many years and decades,” the President said/
Trump then turned to the topic of Operation Midnight Hammer, calling it one of the most successful military strikes in history.
Trump acknowledged 150 airmen and their families from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, asking them to raise their hands during the event: “Thank you very much. We owe you everything. Great job. Incredible. Just flawless.”
He elaborated on the mission’s precision and stealth, contrasting it with past failures,
“One of the most flawless military campaigns in the history of our country. If you remember, years ago they had helicopters crashing into each other. It was a disaster,” Trump said, adding, “We had just the opposite. We didn’t have any crashes. We didn’t lose any planes. We didn’t lose anybody. Those beautiful planes that you saw were totally stealth. They flew right over the center of a very hostile country, and they never even saw it coming.”
Before he signed the bill, Trump commended the mission’s execution and addressed the service members involved.
“It was total obliteration. Now even the fake news is admitting that. They hated to admit it, but they had no choice. These heroic pilots showed our enemies what it means to fly, fight, and win,” Trump said.
“To every service member who supported that mission we salute you, and we honor you. Thank you very much for being here.”
