WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is planning to meet with sailors and shipbuilders on an aircraft carrier in Virginia as he promotes his plans for a major buildup of the nation’s military.
Trump is traveling Thursday to Newport News to deliver a speech aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford, a $12.9 billion warship expected to be commissioned this year after cost overruns and delays. He’s also meeting with the carrier’s builder.
A draft White House budget plan would add $54 billion to the Pentagon’s projected budget, a 10 percent increase.
“To keep America safe, we must provide the men and women of the United States military with the tools they need to prevent war — if they must — they have to fight and they only have to win,” Trump said Tuesday.
