{"id":1748,"date":"2026-09-01T21:37:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T21:37:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1748"},"modified":"2026-09-01T21:37:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T21:37:39","slug":"3-of-trump-admins-new-competition-show-finalists-are-military-contractors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1748","title":{"rendered":"3 of Trump Admin\u2019s New Competition Show \u201cFinalists\u201d Are Military Contractors"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Did you know that Truthout is a nonprofit and independently funded by readers like you? If you value what we do, please support our work with <\/span><\/i>a donation<\/span><\/i>.<\/p>\n

Read more Federal Judge Postpones Lawsuit Over Revoking Mifepristone Access After Election<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Trump administration has announced that it is holding a competition show that pits American small business owners against each other for $1 million worth of prizes \u2014 except the show\u2019s five finalists have already been chosen, and records show at least three of them listed as military contractors.<\/p>\n

The \u201clive finale event\u201d of the Small Business Administration\u2019s (SBA) \u201cMillion Dollar Pitch Competition,\u201d marketed as part of the America 250 celebration, is slated to be held in D.C. and broadcast live on September 18th. On Monday, the agency announced that the show, sponsored by point-of-sale technology company Clover, will be judged by rapper Nicki Minaj, private equity company owner and real estate investor Grant Cardone, and Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia. The host is actor and TV host Dean Cain.<\/p>\n

In the show, the finalists \u201cwill pitch their small businesses for a chance to win a portion of a $1 million cash prize pool\u201d to the celebrity judge panel, according to the SBA. All five businesses are slated to earn prize money, with the first place winner getting $400,000 in prize money, down to $75,000 for fifth place.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the SBA opened up a \u201cPatriot Pitch Competition\u201d in which businesses were judged for their contributions to categories like \u201cstrengthening American competitiveness\u201d and \u201ceconomic impact.\u201d Applicants were to a selection of 68 by SBA officials, and eventually down to five finalists in July, who were chosen by a \u201ccommittee of 5 judges convened by the Administrator,\u201d Kelly Loeffler, according to the agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Million Dollar Pitch Competition is really amplifying the importance of small businesses across America,\u201d Loeffler said on Fox News<\/em> on Tuesday. \u201cThis is what the Trump administration stands with: these main street job creators that are building American strength. Think about: it took 3,000 small businesses to get Artemis II mission to the moon. It takes 400 small businesses to build a Patriot missile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, the agency announced its five finalists: Compotech, Inc. from Brewer, Maine; Plas-Tech Tooling from Garner, Iowa; Red River from Gillette, Wyoming; VetPowered LLC from San Diego, California; and Winton Machine from Suwanee, Georgia.<\/p>\n

All five of them are manufacturers \u2014 and at least three have received contracts from the Department of Defense for military-related work, the federal government\u2019s federal awards database shows.<\/p>\n

Read more Big Tech\u2019s Debate Over \u201cOpen\u201d and \u201cSafe\u201d AI Leaves Corporate Power Unquestioned<\/a><\/p>\n

Defense technology company Compotech, according to the database, has received $9.1 million from the Pentagon in the past 10 years, specifically from the Army. Loeffler and Vice President J.D. Vance spoke at its facilities in Brewer last week. In her remarks at the event, Loeffler touted the company\u2019s success in producing \u201clifesaving ballistics for our U.S. Army\u201d while vilifying socialism.<\/p>\n

Winton Machine is listed as having received numerous contracts from the DOD over the years, and was previously named as the SBA\u2019s \u201c2026 Exporter of the Year\u201d; Winton lists having served the U.S. military and big contractors such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon as its clients. <\/p>\n

Contestant VetPowered is already listed as having received nearly $400,000 from federal contracts with the Pentagon for various equipment needs.<\/p>\n

Red River doesn\u2019t appear to be listed on the database, but its website also lists doing military-related work.<\/p>\n

The competition comes as the SBA has teamed up with the Pentagon in order to expand the defense industrial base\u2019s capacity by establishing the \u201c\u200b\u200bSmaller War Plants Commission,\u201d which aims to expand the nation\u2019s military production capacity by investing in \u201csmall suppliers.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not uncommon for the SBA to hold competitions for entrepreneurs and those fueling \u201cinnovation.\u201d However, the Trump administration has already raised eyebrows for its focus on various competition and reality shows. At another America 250-themed competition earlier this year, known as the Presidential 1776 Award competition, the Trump administration was accused of rigging the civics competition against a Sikh child to prevent him from advancing to the finals.<\/p>\n

Read more New Covert USPS System Could Get Millions of Ballots Tossed, Leak Reveals<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration\u2019s \u201creality\u201d competition shows have already raised eyebrows over biases.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\n3 of Trump Admin\u2019s New Competition Show \u201cFinalists\u201d Are Military Contractors - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1748\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 of Trump Admin\u2019s New Competition Show \u201cFinalists\u201d Are Military Contractors - 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