Golden Dome unveiled in Oval Office press event

In a late-afternoon press conference on Tuesday, 20 May 2025, Trump announced $25 billion for Golden Dome. What is Golden Dome? As NBC News's Aaron Gilchrest reported, it's not a physical dome over the country.

For the cameras, SecDef Pete Hegseth praised Trump for "defending the homeland, defending the American people," which is going to benefit Hegseth's "kids and grandkids, all of ours in this room." Trump responded, "Great job, everybody."

Here are the in-room graphics that explain Golden Dome in a nongranular way. Apparently the Times op-ed was height of accomplishment and not nadir.