President Donald Trump told sailors and shipboard workers aboard the yet-to-be commissioned aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford that he would rebuild the U.S. Navy and give the service the all the resources it needs to fight and win — to include more aircraft carriers.
“I just spoke with Navy and industry leaders and have discussed my plan to undertake a major expansion of our entire Navy fleet, including having the 12-carrier Navy we need,” Trump said Thursday to cheers from sailors and shipyard workers in attendance.
Currently, the Navy has 10 aircraft carriers.
“After years of budget cuts that have impaired our defense, I am calling for one of the largest defense spending increases in history. And by eliminating the sequester and the uncertainty it creates, we will make it easier for the Navy to plan for the future,” Trump said, referring to the budget caps that Congress has imposed on the Pentagon for the past five years.
Trump arrived on the ship on Marine 1, the shiny Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King helicopter. Trump’s helicopter was preceded on the flight deck by three MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.