President Donald Trump’s pitch for a new Space Force uniform has landed him in an unexpected costume debate. Social media users say the design looks less like military wear and more like something pulled from a sci-fi villain’s closet. Several are even pointing to Nazi-inspired elements as the source.
Donald Trump’s proposed Space Force look has people talking
Donald Trump posted a graphic on Truth Social showing a “next generation” Space Force uniform concept. The design features a charcoal-colored collared jacket, matching pants, a black belt, black boots, and a peaked cap. The Space Force Delta symbol appears on the collar, sleeve patch, belt buckle, and the front of the cap.
The post described the look as “inspired by the discipline and functionality of the Starship Trooper uniform.” It added that the uniform was “modernized for the guardians of the space domain.” That reference set off the comparisons.
The 1997 movie Trump appears to be nodding to was directed by Paul Verhoeven. Verhoeven grew up in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands and has said he built the movie’s fascist aesthetic deliberately. “I decided to make a movie about fascists who aren’t aware of their fascism,” he told The Guardian in 2022. He added it was specifically “about American politics.”
Verhoeven drew on fascist propaganda films, including Triumph of the Will, when designing the uniform for the military officer played by Neil Patrick Harris. The director said that the outfit was essentially modeled on an SS uniform. Now, Trump’s mock-up skips the character’s long leather coat but keeps the fitted dark tunic, peaked cap with insignia, and knee-high boots.
By comparison, the current Space Force uniform uses a larger tunic that closes diagonally with six buttons, a nod to the branch’s status as the sixth arm of the US military. It remains unclear whether Trump intends to formally push the redesign or whether the post was simply another social media moment.
