Trump announces new "Trump class" of Navy battleships

President Trump on Monday announced plans to build a new fleet of Navy battleships, anchoring what he called the Pentagon's "Golden Fleet."

The president said he approved plans to begin constructing "two brand-new, very large, largest we've ever built, battleships." He later said he expects to build a total of 10 ships in short order, and ultimately 20 to 25. He made the announcement flanked by renderings of ships that were referred to as "Trump class." 

Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago estate, Mr. Trump said, "each one of these will be the largest battleship in the history of our country, the largest battleship in the history of the world, ever built." The president made the announcement alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan.

"As commander-in-chief, it is my great honor to announce that I have approved a plan for the Navy to begin the construction of two brand-new, very large, largest we've ever built, battleships," he said.

"There's never been anything like these ships," the president continued. "These have been under design consideration for a long time. And it started with me in my first term, because I said, 'Why aren't we doing battleships like we used to?'"

The president said the U.S. is "desperately in need of ships" because some of the United States' ships "have gotten old and tired and obsolete." The Trump administration is trying to address U.S. shipbuilding shortfalls through multiple administrations, and beef up the United States' shipbuilding supply chain. 

The Navy's Phelan said the president has long talked about the need for battleships, and Phelan said that in speaking with other Naval leaders, he agrees. 

"The future Trump-class battleship, the U.S.S. Defiant, will be the largest, deadliest, and most versatile, and best-looking warship anywhere on the world's oceans," Phelan said, thanking Mr. Trump for this "game-changing capability for the United States' Navy." 

Phelan described the Trump-class battleship as an updated version of the Iowa-class battleship, calling this a "generational investment." 

"Now, this new battleship will command everything from warships to drones and everything in between," Phelan said. "We're going to make battle groups great again, and this is just one piece of the president's Golden Fleet that we're going to build with the investments he talked about." 

Asked if the ships are being built to counter China, the president said, "It's a counter to everybody. It's not China. We get along great with China." The president said, hopefully, the U.S. never needs to use them. 

Mr. Trump said the ships should take about two-and-a-half years to build. 

Phelan announced plans last week to build a new class of warship as a part of the president's "Golden Fleet." In a video he posted Friday to social media, Phelan said the goal for the new Frigate class is to have American-designed ships made by Americans, with an eye on 2028 for launching the first ship.

"We're done admiring the problem. Our focus is on readiness," Phelan said in the video. 

The president's announcement Monday comes as the Trump administration has built up the United States' increased naval presence in Latin America amid tensions with Venezuela. The U.S. on Saturday announced the seizure of a second vessel in international waters, this one most recently docked off the coast of Venezuela, after the president announced a "blockade" of all oil tankers coming in or out of the country. 

During his announcement Monday, the president brought up his administration's strikes on alleged drug boats. 

"And soon, we'll be starting the same program on land," he said. "The land is much easier."

The administration has also pressured the Venezuelan government in recent weeks, accusing it of working with drug cartels — which it denies. The president said Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro can do "whatever he wants," but gave a warning. 

"We have a massive armada formed, the biggest we've ever had, and by far the biggest we've ever had in South America," Mr. Trump said. But he also said if Maduro "plays tough, it'll be the last time he's ever able to play tough."

The president is spending the Christmas holiday at Mar-a-Lago, with a mix of official events and golfing outings.