President Donald Trump bombed President Joe Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan and quoted a pay increase in the troops he hoped to address U.S. service members on Thursday.
Trump commented in a speech at the Al Udede Air Force Base in Qatar during his trip to the Middle East.
"My 2026 budget includes comprehensively - maybe you don't want to look for the interests of the country, you don't have to accept it - a raise for each of you. A large raise for the pay."
"You are undoubtedly the greatest combat power in world history. That's it. I said last night. I said it was powerful. We have the most powerful army in the world. Not even a game. We have the best equipment, there is no equipment like us, no one has airplanes or missiles or anything," he continued.
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President Donald Trump delivered a speech at the al-udeid Air Force Base in southwestern Doha on May 15, 2025. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
He added: "As your commander-in-chief, I'm here to say that the U.S. military will soon become bigger, better, stronger, stronger."
Trump continued to criticize Biden, noting that 13 U.S. troops died during the evacuation from Kabul, Afghanistan.
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Trump's speech was less than a day after he signed a series of agreements with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump lifted a pen from Amir Sheikh Tamim bin bin hamad al Thani, who exchanged documents at a signing ceremony held at Amiri Diwan in Doha, Qatar on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Alex Brandon/AP)
The agreements involved Qatar’s purchase agreement for Boeing, as well as a letter of intent and “joint cooperation” between Qatar and the United States, and Emir also signed an intent agreement to purchase the MQ-9 drone aircraft.
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Al Thani said he had a "good" conversation with Trump ahead of Wednesday's signing ceremony, adding that the agreement elevated the U.S.-Qatar relations to "another level."
During Farnborough International Airshow, a model of a universal atomic MQ-9 harvester unmanned drone vehicle was demonstrated. (John Kible/Getty Image)
The U.S.-Doha relationship has gone a long way since Trump accused Qatar of terrorism in 2017: "Unfortunately, the Qatar state has been a funder of terrorism in history," Trump said at the time.
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From there, Qatar became a major non-NATO ally of the United States under Biden in 2022 and is home to Al Udeid, one of the largest Middle East bases in the United States, and is also a key hub for central command operations in the United States.
Fox News's Morgan Phillips contributed to the report.