Former President Donald Trump looked to the future on Friday by pitching the creation of 10 new US cities, with flying cars and lots of babies – launching a “quantum leap” agenda as part of his 2024 presidential run.
In a video posted to Truth Socialthe ex-president explained that he would federally own a small percentage of the land and hold a competition for the best ideas, then build as many as 10 “freedom cities” from scratch.
In those cities, there would be “towering monuments to our true American heroes” and “vertical take-off and landing vehicles.” “Just as the United States led the automotive revolution in the last century, I want to make sure that America, not China, leads this revolution in air mobility,” Trump said.
In addition, the cities would be filled with children, with Trump suggesting that the federal government give out “baby bonuses” during his second term to increase reproduction.
Trump’s futuristic pitch comes on the eve of his return to the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he will deliver the keynote speech Saturday night.
He’s been a presidential candidate for three and a half months — though much of his campaign has focused on the past — as he settles old scores and reiterates his previous policy ideas.
Former President Donald Trump launched a ‘quantum leap’ agenda on Friday as part of his 2024 presidential run
Before his speech to CPAC, Trump said he wanted the US to pursue flying car technology and give baby bonuses to young parents to boost the US birth rate
Trump’s plan for a “quantum leap in American living standards” draws on his roots as a real estate developer, his career before becoming a reality TV star and politician.
He has previously pitched futuristic ideas such as a missile shield and advocated for the creation of Space Force during his time in the White House.
“Past generations of Americans pursued big dreams and bold projects that once seemed absolutely impossible. They traversed a troubled continent, building new cities in the wild frontier. They transformed American life with the interstate highway system – it was beautiful. And they launched a huge network of satellites into orbit,” Trump said in the video.
“But today our country has lost its courage,” he said. “Under my leadership, we’re getting it back in a really big way.”
“Our goal will be a quantum leap in American living standards,” he said. “That’s what’s going to happen.”
Trump then spoke of the expanse of land owned by the federal government, saying he would use “a very, very small portion of that land, just a fraction, half a percent – would you believe that” to build entirely new cities. build based on the designs of the contest winners.
“These freedom cities will reopen the border, rekindle the American imagination and give hundreds of thousands of young people and other people, all of them hard-working families, a new chance at home ownership and, in effect, the American dream,” he said.
Trump added that “forgotten communities” would turn into hives of industry as the US closes the door to imports from China.
He promised to reduce the cost of living, especially the cost of buying a car and building a new house. “And they’ll be nice houses,” he said.
“And I will ask Congress to support baby bonuses for young parents to launch another baby boom,” the ex-president said.
He said he would ask all state governors to join him in a national “modernization and beautification campaign,” which would include “getting rid of ugly buildings” and refurbishing parks and public spaces.
Similarly, Trump had at the very end of Trump’s tenure in the White House signed an executive order that called for traditional designs for federal buildings and criticized modernist architecture.
“It is very important that I will also make sure that these new places are safe,” he continued. “We love and cherish our police, they will do the job as they should,” Trump added, reiterating his support for police officers he expressed during his 2020 campaign amid a wave of Black Lives Matter protests.
Trump’s call for “towering monuments” in his new freedom cities echoes the executive order he signed just two days before President Joe Biden’s swearing-in, which called for a National Garden of American Heroes, with statues of 244 historical figures.
The ex-president also urged Confederate monuments during his 2020 run as the Black Lives Matter protests led many city officials across the country to reassess whether they should still be on display.
