(Tribune News Service) — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump vowed to prevent “World War III,” to “restore world peace” and to expel “warmongers” from the U.S. government during a campaign stop in Detroit on Monday afternoon.

Trump made the remarks while speaking to hundreds of National Guard officers from across the country who were attending a conference at Huntington Place. Trump noted that crowd in the convention hall was more “low key” than the raucous rallies he traditionally addresses.

“We’ve never been closer to World War III than we are right now,” Trump said at one point. “It’s a terrible thing.”

Trump said if he’s elected in November he would have the war between Russia and Ukraine settled “very fast.” He told the National Guard personnel that he doesn’t want them “over there.”

Trump’s presentation lasted about an hour. Trump said he wanted to impose a penalty that would require those who burn U.S. flags to serve a year in jail and said he would create a Space National Guard, after forming the Space Force in 2019, during his first term.

National Guard leadership “very badly” wants a presence in outer space, Trump said.

If re-elected, Trump said he will invest heavily in drones, robotics, artificial intelligence and hypersonics.

“Space Force is very important, very, very important,” Trump said. “We were getting just destroyed in space, and now, we’re leading.”

About 18 minutes into his remarks, Trump turned the stage over to former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2020. Gabbard, who deployed to Iraq in 2005 with the Hawaii National Guard, endorsed Trump.

Gabbard said Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration has the country “facing multiple wars on multiple fronts” and “closer to the brink of nuclear war than we ever have been before.”

“I am confident that his first task will be to do the work to walk us back from the brink of war,” Gabbard said. “We cannot be prosperous unless we are at peace.”

Gabbard’s speech received applause from the crowd. Immediately afterward, Trump suggested that he “wasn’t sure” that Gabbard was going to fully endorse him.

“I heard that might happen,” Trump said.

The former president also used his Monday speech to criticize Biden’s administration for its handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan three years ago this week, ending a nearly 20-year-long American military occupation. And Trump warned Russia’s war with Ukraine could escalate into a global conflict, saying he would settle the war before assuming office if voters return him to the White House in November.

“I will prevent World War III,” Trump said at one point.

Trump said when he returns to the White House, he will “expel “the warmongers and profiteers” from the federal government.

“We will restore world peace,” he said, drawing a large round of applause.

Trump is competing for votes in Michigan with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who currently serves as Biden’s vice president. His speech in Detroit, 71 days before the Nov. 5 election, focused on foreign affairs, immigration and “fair elections.”

“It would be nice if somebody votes and the vote actually counts,” Trump said.

Trump is the only Republican presidential nominee since 1988 to carry Michigan. He won the state against Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 by less than 1 percentage point, 47.5%-47.3%, or about 10,700 votes. But four years later, in 2020, Trump lost to Biden by 154,000 votes or 3 percentage points, 48%-51%, in Michigan.

Trump was last in Detroit on June 15 to speak at a convention organized by a conservative organization. After the 2020 election, Trump claimed, without providing evidence to back up his statements, that there was “rampant” voter fraud in Detroit, Michigan’s largest city and a Democratic stronghold.

Each year, the agenda for the National Guard Association of the United States’ General Conference & Exhibition includes speeches by Pentagon leaders and lawmakers, according to an announcement distributed last week. During presidential election years, the association also invites the Democratic and Republican nominees for president to speak, the announcement said.

Monday’s event marked Trump’s seventh visit to Michigan of the year. He’ll be back in the state on Thursday to deliver a speech on the economy in Potterville in Eaton County.

Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, will be in the Big Rapids area on Tuesday for a campaign speech about the economy, inflation, and manufacturing, according to the Trump campaign.

cmauger@detroitnews.com

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