President Donald Trump is expected to announce plans Monday for a new class of Navy warships that would bear his name, according to multiple news outlets citing a Pentagon official familiar with the proposal.
The official, who requested anonymity to preview the plan, said the Navy is expected to refer to the vessels as “Trump class” battleships, which the White House envisions as the centerpiece of what Trump has described as a new “Golden Fleet.”
Trump is scheduled to appear later Monday at his Mar-a-Lago beach resort in an appearance that will also include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, where the announcement is expected to be made, the New York Times reported Monday.
Trump has long criticized the appearance of U.S. Navy warships, previously calling them “terrible looking” and complaining they were covered in rust. During his first term, Trump reportedly weighed in on naval design choices and at one point advocated for a return to steam-powered aircraft carriers – a proposal that ultimately went nowhere, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Earlier in the day, Trump teased his expected plan by saying he would announce a “cool-looking” battleship, which critics were quick to push back on.
Retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery called the new $5 billion ships "exactly what we don't need."
"We do not need ships that are not optimized to provide lethality against the Chinese threat," Montgomery told the Journal, noting that the ship had "zero tactical use."
"That is not what these are focused on—they are focused on the president's visual that a battleship is a cool-looking ship," Montgomery added.
