In a Sept. 30 address to military leaders and an Oct. 9 Cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump made false claims about military pay raises and recruitment.

• Trump promoted a military pay raise of 3.8% for next year, claiming that this was “something you weren’t getting from the past administration.” Military wages rose by at least 4.5% in each of the past three years under his predecessor. Next year’s raise also was determined by a formula set by law.

• Trump touted fiscal year 2025 recruitment and falsely claimed that “one year ago” news stories said “we couldn’t get anybody to join” the military. Nearly all military branches met their recruitment goals in FY 2024, as recruitment began recovering from pandemic-era lows.

Military Pay Raises

During Sept. 30 remarks addressing military leadership, Trump announced “a hard-earned pay raise of 3.8% to every soldier, sailor, airman, Coast Guardsman, Space Guardsmen and Marines,” falsely claiming such a raise was “something you weren’t getting from the past administration.” Trump added: “They did not treat you with respect.”

Despite Trump’s claim, the 2026 pay raise falls short of recent years, as military pay increased by 4.6%, 5.2% and 4.5% in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. Military raises are automatically determined by a formula set by law. The president can propose a different figure, which Congress can agree to or override.

The 3.8% pay raise for 2026 is included in both the Senate and House versions of the National...

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