Kennedy says he would reduce military spending by 50 percent if elected in November

Independent presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised on Wednesday night that he would call on Congress to reduce defense spending by 50% throughout his term, if he was elected to the White House in November.

Kennedy, who has been vocal supporter of Israel in its war with Hamas, said he wants to roll back defense spending to where it was when the late President Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the Oval Office, and that the United States should project strength through moral leadership and strong economics. Eisenhower cut defense spending in his tenure to avert an arms war with Russia, CBS News reported.

"I will push for [a] 50% reduction in military expenditures in my first four years in office, with more cuts to come thereafter," Kennedy told a southern California audience. "A way to keep the dollar strong is to keep the country strong. We can do that by redirecting our bloated military budget toward infrastructure, education and health, and building our economy and building small business."

Kennedy claimed the country should be more like China when it comes to government spending, because the global superpower invested in infrastructure, and in countries in South America and Africa.

"They spent $8 trillion on bridges, roads, airports and schools and hospitals," Kennedy said. "Our forever wars made us enemies across the globe — left us bankrupt at home. China's investments, in contrast, made friends across the globe and brought it influence in every corner of the Earth."

Kennedy has previously opposed sending any aid to Ukraine amid its war with Russia, but said the U.S. should help Israel, because its conflict is a "moral war." His views on the Israel-Hamas war is a contrast with his running mate Nicole Shanahan, who said the war in Israel is something that leads to many heated debates between the pair.

"What I see right now happening on the ground in Gaza, is devastating. I think that, you know, there's arguments to be made, that we're long past the point of a cease-fire," Shanahan said during a podcast with host Glenn Greenwald last week. "I think there's lots of arguments to be made that Israel should be showing more restraint."

Kennedy is considered a long-shot candidate for the White House, but polls third nationwide, behind former President Donald Trump as the presumptive Republican nominee, and President Joe Biden, who is the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.