Summary
- Trump criticized military "good-looks" and appearance focus.
- Complained about "ugly" stealth warships and Navy ship delays.
- Called military readiness "no longer politically correct."
While speaking to sailors on board the U.S. George Washington, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier stationed semi-permanently at the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka, Japan, Trump interrupted his attempt to commend the gathered service members to babble about their overly attractive appearance.
Trump said the Navy's "ultimate strength" comes from "the men and women of the rank and file" on the second day of a multi-day, multi-country trip through Asia that will end on Thursday following a scheduled summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. He referred to his uniformed audience as "incredible people" and "good-looking people."
After a beat, he said there were “too many good-looking people” present.
“I don’t like good-looking people,”
he continued, as the sailors laughed at their commander-in-chief’s bizarre remark.
“I never liked good-looking people, I’ll be honest with you ... never admitted that before,”
he said.
Following a theatrical arrival at the George Washington, which is forward-deployed in Japan as part of the permanent American military presence there under a 1960 joint defense treaty that superseded an earlier agreement imposed as a condition of ending the post-World War II occupation of Japan by U.S. forces, the president delivered his rambling, spontaneous remarks.
Before launching into a tirade of grievances regarding the elevator and catapult systems aboard the newest class of American carriers, beginning with the class' lead ship, the U.S.S. Gerald R. Trump made his entrance on one of the aircraft carrier's enormous elevators, which are used to transport planes and helicopters from hangars to the carrier's enormous flight deck.
Additionally, the Ford-class uses an electromagnetic system to power the arrestor gears, which slow down planes as they land on their return, and the catapults, which launch aircraft off the flight deck.
The Navy prefers the new systems because they enable planes to be armed and launched twice as quickly as the steam-powered catapults and hydraulic elevators on older carriers like the George Washington. Additionally, the electromagnetic catapult system, or EMALS, can launch modern fighters like the F-35C with significantly less damage to the costly aircraft's delicate airframes and allows smaller aircraft, like drones, to be launched from carriers.
How did military leaders react to Trump's 'good-looks' remark?
Military leaders’ responses to Trump’s “good- looks ” comment and broader address were largely muted and subdued, reflecting the service’s tradition of neutralism and discipline. During a high- profile service peak, numerous elderly officers showed little visible response; there were no enthusiastic cheers and only restrained applause at the conclusion.
Some defense officers intimately described the speech as “uncomfortable” due to its politically charged nature and unusual focus on domestic security issues, including proffers to emplace colors in U.S. metropolises to fight internal pitfalls. Pentagon interposers reported that attendees were probably briefed to maintain form and avoid public displays of support or dissent.
The speech also included controversial reflections by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who called for tougher programs on military discipline and proposed changing processes for handling misconduct allegations, which sparked concern in defense circles.