Trump highlights potential pay raise for troops, touts military reforms in Qatar speech

President Donald Trump blasted President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and cited his wish to give troops a pay raise in an address to U.S. service members on Thursday.

Trump made the comments during an address to troops at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar during his extended trip to the Middle East.

“My 2026 budget includes across the board – maybe you don’t want to look for the good of the country, you don’t have to take it – pay raises for each and every one of you. Substantial pay raises,” Trump said.

“You are without a doubt the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. That’s the way it is. I said it last night. I said it’s strong. We have the strongest military in the world. It’s not even a contest. We have the best equipment, nobody has equipment like us, nobody has the planes or the missiles or anything else,” he continued.

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President Donald Trump arrives to address troops at the Al-Udeid air base southwest of Doha on May 15, 2025.  (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

“And as your commander-in-chief, I’m here to say that America’s military will soon be bigger, better, stronger and more powerful than ever,” he added.

Trump went on to criticize Biden, noting the deaths of 13 U.S. troops during the evacuation from Kabul, Afghanistan.

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Trump’s speech came less than a day after he on Wednesday signed a series of agreements with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha, Qatar.

President Donald Trump holds up a pen given by Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as they exchange documents during a signing ceremony at the Amiri Diwan in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Alex Brandon/AP)

The agreements involved a purchasing agreement by Qatar for Boeing aircraft, as well as letters of intent and “joint cooperation” between Qatar and the U.S. The emir also signed an intent agreement to purchase MQ-9 drone aircraft.

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Al Thani said he had a “great” conversation with Trump prior to the signing ceremony on Wednesday, adding that the agreements have elevated the U.S.-Qatar relationship to “another level.”

A model of a General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial drone vehicle is displayed during the Farnborough International Airshow. (John Keeble/Getty Images)

U.S. relations with Doha have come a long way since 2017, when Trump accused Qatar of harboring terrorism: “The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level,” Trump said at the time.

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From there, Qatar became a major non-NATO ally to the U.S. in 2022 under Biden and is home to Al Udeid Air Base, one of the U.S.’s largest Middle Eastern bases and a key hub for U.S. Central Command operations. 

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.