Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama was roasted after he couldn't quite recall the proper word for a three-sided shape, mangling the word "triangle" in a joke about Pentagon budget cuts.
Congressional Democrats have pushed back upon learning that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed senior Pentagon and military officials to plan for 8 percent budget cuts annually over the next five years.
Republicans, despite typically advocating for strong defense funding, appeared largely unfazed by the proposal—even as GOP lawmakers push to increase the annual defense budget by $100 billion. However, any reductions affecting districts that manufacture ships or weaponry could set up a major clash between the Pentagon and Congress.
Outlined in a memo issued Tuesday, the cuts aim to trim $50 billion from the Defense Department’s budget in the next fiscal year, redirecting funds toward President Donald Trump’s priorities, such as a U.S. version of the Iron Dome missile defense system and enhanced border security.
Tuberville defended the cuts, issuing the following statement to reporters:
“I wouldn’t be against them taking it from a Pentagon to a Trigon. Cut a couple sides off of it."
Wait, what?
Whatever Tuberville meant to say, his joke clearly didn't land.
The only people dumber than Tuberville are the people who keep voting for him.
— Stephanie (she/her) ❄️ 📚 🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️ 🎨 🔞 🚭 (@beetsme.bsky.social) February 20, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Tommy Tuberville looking at his wife’s lover: we appear to be in a love trigon
— Joshua Erlich (@joshuaerlich.bsky.social) February 20, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Trigon is an extremely power dc comics demon. I do not want him as part of the us government
— Greg Sasso (@gregsasso.bsky.social) February 20, 2025 at 3:08 PM
If only we had a word for a shape with three sides.
[image or embed]
— Ryan D. Williamson (@ryandane.bsky.social) February 20, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Hegseth's plan includes reductions to military commands in Europe and the Middle East while maintaining or increasing funding for 17 key priorities, signaling a focus on defense concerns closer to home. These areas include border security, cybersecurity, nuclear modernization, submarines, drones, and “combating transnational criminal organizations in the Western Hemisphere.”
In the memo, Hegseth says the military "must act urgently to revive the warrior ethos, rebuild our military, and reestablish deterrence. Our budget will resource the fighting force we need, cease unnecessary defense spending, reject excessive bureaucracy, and drive actionable reform including progress on the audit.”
The funding shift, driven by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, puts the Trump administration at odds with Congress. Republican lawmakers had been pushing to boost the Pentagon’s $850 billion budget by $100 billion as part of a broader effort to advance Trump’s policy agenda.
AMC
