Trump Unveils New 'Trump Class' Fleet of Navy Battleships
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The Trump-class battleship signals the return of American naval dominance through unmatched firepower and industrial revival. Armed with hypersonic and nuclear missiles — the first guided missile battleship with both — a single ship can strike targets at up to 80 times the range of current vessels, holding entire adversary coastlines at risk within minutes. Built quickly and reliably in American shipyards under the Golden Fleet initiative, the program restores U.S. shipbuilding capacity, creates jobs, and delivers the overwhelming deterrence that preserves peace through strength.
Establishment-critical narrative
The Trump-class battleships are a strategic and industrial misstep. Reviving massive, concentrated surface ships abandoned by the Navy decades ago diverts resources from the DDG(X) program and the undersea fleet. China now dominates global shipbuilding and fields 2,000-mile missiles that make such ships highly vulnerable in modern warfare. With only two U.S. yards able to build them, construction will likely depend on allied support and modular foreign components, undermining domestic shipbuilding, inflating costs and leaving national security goals uncertain.
