Trump announces new 'Trump-class' battleships to start 'Golden Fleet'

 President Donald Trump announced the construction of two new "Trump-class" battleships that would be the first in a "Golden Fleet" of Navy ships, in the latest instance of Trump naming things after himself.

"Each one of these will be the largest battleship in the history of our country, the largest in the history of the world," Trump said, flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Navy Secretary John Phelan during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Dec. 22. Three pictures of ships labeled with the name "USS Defiant" stood behind him.

Trump said "20 to 25" ships would eventually make up the new class of ships. Construction of the first two ships would begin "immediately," he said.

The Navy will lead construction of the ships, along with the president, who called himself "a very aesthetic person."

The announcement comes a few days after Trump's name was added to the outside of the iconic Kennedy Center building in Washington, DC, on Dec. 19, less than 24 hours after the center's board of trustees voted to rename it the "Trump-Kennedy Center."

Trump has criticized U.S. warships since his first term as "terrible-looking" and pressed to revamp the fleet.

The "Trump-class" ships will upgrade Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers – named after a World War II and Korean War-era admiral. The class was commissioned in 1991 and is still in production.

Phelan announced on Dec. 19 that he had directed the construction of a new frigate class as part of the "golden fleet." The Navy is aiming to "launch the first hull in the water in 2028."

The new class of ships will be heavier than current Navy destroyers, officials told the Wall Street Journal, which first reported Trump's announcement.

Phelan announced late last month that the Navy was ditching plans to build the last four ships in the Constellation Class Frigate program as part of a "strategic shift." That program was bogged down by construction delays and design issues.