Remarks by Quote-Unquote "President" Trump Aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford

2:28 P.M. EST

THE QUOTE-UNQUOTE “PRESIDENT”: Thank you. Thank you very much. What an honor. They just gave me this beautiful jacket. They said, here, Mr. Quote-Unquote “President”, please take this home. I said, let me wear it. (Laughter.) They said no, please don’t, but I wore it anyway. And then they gave me the beautiful hat, and I said, you know, maybe I’ll do that. We have a great “Make America Great Again” hat, but I said, you know me, I’ll never turn down a free hat.

Thank you. I’m privileged to stand here today with the incredible men and women of the United States Navy. (Applause.) American sailors are the best warfighting sailors anywhere in the world. And it’s not even close. (Applause.) That’s why just a couple of days ago I was complaining about how they never win wars anymore. I said they were the best war-fighting sailors, not war-winning. You people could maybe be better at the winning part. Which is what I’m all about, about the winning.

The soon-to-be-commissioned Gerald R. Ford USS – what a place. It really feels like a place. You stand on that deck, and you say, hey, this is a place. But this is better than a place. It’s also a symbol of American strength. That also happens to be a place. And we’re going to soon have more coming. Better believe it. More places.

President Ford was a Navy man. He saw action in the South Pacific during World War II. He served this country with honor. And – many people don’t know this – he’s another president who was also relentlessly mocked by Saturday Night Live. Every week. They never stopped, with the tripping. He was also a one-term president. I’m told that is just a coincidence.

We are joined today by General Mattis, now Secretary Mattis – (applause) – where is he? – who will be charged with overseeing this great rebuilding of military might. We will give the men and women of America’s armed services the resources you need to keep us safe. We will have the finest equipment in the world – planes, ships and everything else. The finest equipment in the world. Not like this piece of junk. The finest. And yes, I do realize that I was just saying a minute ago how great this ship was and now I’m saying it’s a piece of junk. When you’re a smart person like me you can believe two things at once, even when those two things are opposites. People don’t realize that, by the way.

I salute you, and I salute our sailors. I will always support you and your mission. I will never, ever let you down. As long as you don’t get in Russia’s way. Just – if they happen to make a lunge across the Baltic Sea, I mean, you don’t have to get involved. Just go to the movies. I hear the new “Logan” movie is pretty good, go see that.

To those who serve our nation in uniform and to those who build the instruments of our defense, I thank you on behalf of our nation.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: U-S-A!

THE QUOTE-UNQUOTE “PRESIDENT”: (Laughter.) I agree, I agree. (Laughter.)

I will now read a brief statement that was very obviously written by someone else. (Produces paper from jacket pocket.)

Our carriers are the centerpiece of American military might overseas. We are standing today on 4.5 acres of combat power and sovereign U.S. territory, the likes of which there is nothing to compete. There is no competition to this ship. It is a monument to American might that will provide the strength necessary to ensure peace. This ship will carry 4,500 personnel and 70 aircraft, and will be a vital component of our defense. This carrier and the new ships in the Ford class will expand the ability of our nation to carry out vital missions on the oceans to project American power in distant lands. Hopefully, it’s power we don’t have to use, but if we do, they’re in big, big trouble. (Applause.)

Thank you. Thank you. I am the best at reading things other people wrote. The best.

After years of endless budget cuts that have impaired our defenses, I am calling for one of the largest defense-spending increases in history. And we’ve got to get the best deals for the taxpayer, which is very important, right?

The same boat for less money. The same ship for less money. The same airplanes for less money. That’s my plan for rebuilding America’s military. It’s pretty obviously ridiculous, but I’m told it’s my plan, so we’re going with it.

In these troubled times, our Navy is the smallest it’s been since World War I. Yes. That’s right. It turns out that when ships were coal-fired tin cans with no radar or missiles, you could afford to buy a lot more of them. Does that shock you? It shocked me. Anyway, we’re going to do something about it. We’re going to buy a lot more ships. Whether we need them or not, whether we can afford them or not. We’re buying them. Because that’s winning.

America has always been the country that boldly leads the world into the future, and my budget will ensure we do so and continue to do exactly that. American ships will sail the seas. American planes will soar the skies. I’m not sure why I’m using those things that already happen every day as examples of the future, but I am. I’m using them, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

May God bless our military. May God bless our Navy. May God bless the wonderful Gerald Ford family. And may God continue to bless all my children’s lines of merchandise, which I will remind you are very reasonably priced. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

END
2:42 P.M EST

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