President Donald Trump’s announcement that a new class of U.S. Navy battleships would bear his name quickly set off a firestorm across social media, as critics argued it was the latest example of Trump rebranding public institutions in his own image.
At a news conference Monday, Trump repeatedly hyped the proposed vessels, declaring there has “never been anything like these’ as he described the ships as “the best in the world," and the "fastest, the biggest.” Trump said the Navy would ultimately build 20 to 25 of the so-called “Trump-class” battleships, adding they would “start almost immediately.”
“Those battleships are incredible – they have 100 times the power. Think of that,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago beach resort.
But online, not everybody was as enthusiastic as the MAGA leader.
“The self-aggrandizement spree continues: Trump planning a new generation of Navy vessels to be called Trump-class battleships,” wrote New York Times reporter Peter Baker on X.
“Trump just announced a self-named #TrumpClass of #battleship that will never be built,” Mark Shanahan, who teaches American politics at the University of Surrey, posted to X. “That, dear friends, is Trump in microcosm: narcissistic performativism.”
"The US Navy is going full North Korean," The Atlantic's David Frum wrote.
Former GOP strategist Rick Wilson mocked the announcement.
“By giggity, those newfangled battleships sure will make a difference, said no one who lives in this century,” he posted on his X account.
"The new battleships: Trump Class. Who wants to bet Trump taking a licensing fee for every government asset he slaps his name on? Delivery in 2050? So, never going to be built," X user and political commentator @TheMainWonk told his followers.
Still, Trump’s base of supporters celebrated.
“EPIC!” declared right-wing influencer Eric Daugherty. “Liberals are going to lose their minds.”