Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told an Orange County audience Wednesday night that America faces an existential threat because of its insistence on behaving like an imperial power rather than the moral leader it should be in the world.

The independent presidential candidate said he would reverse the nation’s “decay” by cutting the U.S. military budget by half in his first three years in office — with additional reductions in the future — and using the savings to bolster domestic programs and the economy.

“In the end, we’re going to have a stronger, smarter, better-targeted national defense,” Kennedy said. “If we use those savings to rebuild our country in every way, we will reverse ... spending that is a constant drain on our nation’s vitality.”