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Palmer Luckey Backs Trump’s Defense Crackdown as China Sanctions Take Hold

The Anduril founder argues tougher rules will spur investment to deliver on time.

Overview

  • President Trump signed an executive order that bans buybacks and dividends during underperformance and caps defense executive pay at $5 million tied to delivery and production metrics.
  • Luckey endorsed the push as necessary to improve output, saying it is "good to scare people sometimes," and noted he pays himself $100,000 while owning a significant stake in private Anduril.
  • Beijing’s sanctions on 20 U.S. defense firms and 10 executives include a travel ban and asset freezes for Luckey, who called the move a point of pride during a Fox Business interview.
  • Luckey said Anduril offers land, air, and maritime systems to bolster Taiwan’s defenses and urged making the island a "prickly porcupine" to deter China.
  • Sector stocks initially fell on the order before recovering, while Luckey highlighted a $900 million Ohio plant slated to start production this summer and acknowledged a soldier-protection system running behind schedule.