Share options
Just days after forcing his name on the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump has found another institution worthy of the Trump brand: the U.S. Navy.
On Monday, the president announced plans for a new class of military vessels bearing his name, unveiling what he called “Trump Class” battleships as part of a broader vision for a revamped American fleet. The first ship, according to the White House, would be named the USS Defiant.
“These are the best in the world,” Trump said, standing before glossy renderings of the proposed ships. “They’ll be the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built.”
The plan would inch the country toward what the administration is advertising as a modern “Golden Fleet,” a term Trump has increasingly embraced as shorthand for national strength and renewal.
Each ship is expected to cost at least $5 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the details. Mark Montgomery, a former rear admiral now at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Journal the proposal is “exactly what we don’t need.”
Administration officials framed the move as an attempt to jump-start the nation’s sluggish shipbuilding industry. But it would also upend long-standing Navy naming conventions and inject presidential politics directly into a military program from its inception.
According to Axios, Trump has grown fixated on seapower in his second term, viewing naval dominance as a visible marker of American might. He has complained that existing warships are rusted and outdated, calling the current fleet “terrible-looking.” And he has launched a new shipbuilding office, promising vessels “very fast, very soon.”
Trump unveiled the battleship plan at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, flanked by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Navy Secretary John Phelan.
Trump claimed the ships would feature hypersonic weapons, electric rail guns, lasers, and top-tier missile systems.
“The U.S. Navy will lead the design of these ships along with me, because I’m a really aesthetic person,” he said.
Related | Trump won't stop plastering his face all over the place
The Journal reports construction on the USS Defiant would begin “almost immediately” and take roughly two and a half years.
In its follow-up statement, the Navy leaned hard on superlatives, calling the ship “the most lethal surface combatant ever constructed.” The vessel would be roughly three times the size of a standard destroyer, according to the service, though it would still fall short of the Navy’s largest aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships.
A logo unveiled for the so-called Trump Class battleships depicts the president with his fist raised in the moments after the July 2024 assassination attempt, underscoring how closely the program is being tied to Trump himself.
The naming convention would break sharply with tradition. Battleships have historically been named after states, while aircraft carriers have been named after presidents and other national figures.
As The Washington Post notes, battleships themselves fell out of favor after World War II and were eventually deemed obsolete. The last to see active service, the USS Missouri, was decommissioned in 1992 and later turned into a museum at Pearl Harbor.
Phelan said the new battleship would carry nuclear cruise missiles, a weapons system Trump approved during his first term, canceled by the Biden administration, and revived by a Republican-controlled Congress in 2024.
Whether such a vessel is ever actually built remains an open question. Its sheer size would saddle it with many of the same vulnerabilities that plague the Navy’s largest ships today.
But the practicalities appear secondary. For Trump, the announcement fits neatly into a familiar pattern. Since returning to the White House, he has made a point of leaving his mark everywhere he can.
The Oval Office has been remade into a gold-tinged reflection of his gaudy taste. A $400 million ballroom is under construction following a complete teardown of the East Wing. A triumphal arch in Washington has been floated. Now, even the country’s institutions and military hardware are being refashioned to carry his imprint.
Reality check: 2025 has been rough financially for Daily Kos.
We’re powered by people, not corporations. Almost 80% of our income comes from small donations. That’s why we’re asking our readers for support.
Donate $5 today to help fuel people-powered resistance and journalism.
