On May 20, President Donald Trump proposed the Golden Dome, his missile defense system that is planned to be constructed by the end of his term in 2029. This missile defense system is modeled after Israel’s Iron Dome. It has been successfully used to intercept missiles fired from Gaza and Yemen. It has been successful at intercepting missiles fired from Gaza and Yemen. In 1983, President Reagan, had attempted to do something similar in the Cold War with his Strategic Defense Initiative program, also known as “Star Wars” in 1983. It was a missile defense system that ultimately failed, but had laid the stepping stone for a revival under Trump’s administration. Now we have greater advancements in technology and could possibly make it work.

Although this defense system seems like a good idea, especially in a time where nuclear weapons are advancing to hypersonic speeds, that makes it difficult for modern defense systems to intercept and destroy. There has been a lot of skepticism surrounding the system. First of all, no project at this large of a scale has been done yet, especially one done in space. The Golden Dome’s construction would also be extremely costly, it could cost up to $175 billion or even more. Aware of that cost, Trump’s administration had already cut funding in non defense agencies to increase defense spending by 13%, up to a trillion dollars. Agencies in education, and other social welfare programs have been decreased to achieve this. If the “One, Big Beautiful Bill” is passed and permanently extends tax cuts, then the Golden Dome might be a financial burden. Reason being that the bill might increase federal debt by reducing government revenue from taxes. There are stories on BlueTide about the budget cuts in education and Trump’s agenda. Additionally, experts criticize the Golden Dome for being too difficult to actually make functional because major world powers are developing missiles that are unlike the ones intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome.

The Golden Dome also seems to pose another global threat: a new arms race in nuclear warfare, like a second Cold War, but one without any proxy wars. Other leading world powers like Russia, North Korea, and China have condemned Trump’s Golden Dome as threatening another arms race in space. A spokesperson from China said that the project might shake international security and the arms control system. Russia said that the system rejects the interrelationship between strategic offensive arms and strategic defensive arms.