NEWPORT NEWS, Va.—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.”
President Donald Trump (C) departs on the aircraft elevator after speaking to members of the U.S. Navy and shipyard workers on board the USS Gerald R. Ford CVN 78 that is being built at Newport News shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia, on March 2, 2017. The USS Ford is powered by two Nuclear reactors and is 1, 092 feet long with a 134 foot beam and can carry over 75 aircraft. Mark Wilson/Getty Images
