President Donald Trump pledged to boost defense spending as he basked in the nation’s military might aboard a next-generation Naval aircraft carrier on Thursday.
Wearing an olive green military jacket and blue ball cap, Trump vowed to mount “one of the largest” defense spending increases in history.
“Hopefully it’s power we don’t have to use, but if we do, they’re in big, big trouble,” Trump said.
Trump spoke from the Gerald R. Ford, a $12.9 billion warship that is expected to be commissioned this year after cost overruns and delays. He touted his spending plans, saying he would provide “the finest equipment in the world” and give the military the “tools you need to prevent war.”
The president also toured the carrier and met with sailors and military leaders. He saluted sailors as he arrived.
A draft budget plan released earlier this week by the White House would add $54 billion to the Pentagon’s projected budget, a 10 percent increase. The U.S. currently spends more than half trillion dollars on defense, more than the next seven countries combined.
“To keep America safe, we must provide the men and women of the United States military with the tools they need to prevent war,” Trump said in his address to Congress on Tuesday night.
The PCU Gerald R. Ford CVN 78, located at Newport News Shipbuilding, will be the first of the Navy’s next generation of aircraft carriers and is expected to accommodate some 2,600 sailors.