<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">On Fri, Jun 5, 2026 at 1:17 AM <<a href="mailto:spike@rainier66.com">spike@rainier66.com</a>> wrote:</span></div></div><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt"> </span><br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div class="msg5748173431581120618"><div lang="EN-US" style="overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div class="m_5748173431581120618WordSection1"><div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif">><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">></span> we do know what a</span></b><span class="m_5748173431581120618gmaildefault"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">n</span></b></span><span class="m_5748173431581120618gmaildefault"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif"> 80 year old</span></b></span><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif"> senile <span class="m_5748173431581120618gmaildefault">C</span>ommander <span class="m_5748173431581120618gmaildefault">I</span>n <span class="m_5748173431581120618gmaildefault">C</span>hief who loves having his name on <span class="m_5748173431581120618gmaildefault">big </span>things<span class="m_5748173431581120618gmaildefault"> </span>has ordered his naval engineers to design</span></b><span class="m_5748173431581120618gmaildefault"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">,</span></b></span><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif"> <span class="m_5748173431581120618gmaildefault">and we know what sort of ship the idiot wants the congress to pay for. </span></span></b></blockquote></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> </p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><i style=""><font face="georgia, serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">> </span>You have the notion that the way major weapon systems come into being is POTUS orders naval engineers to design them.  That isn’t how that process works at all.  POTUS has very little to do with what gets built. </font></i></span></p></div></div></div></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style=""><font size="4" style="" face="tahoma, sans-serif"><b>Nope. </b></font><span style="font-size:18px"><font face="tahoma, sans-serif"><b>POTUS certainly shouldn't be the one who decides what type of ships get built, especially if the decision is based on how pretty they look, but in this case that's exactly what happened!  </b></font></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style=""><i style="font-size:18px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></i></div><div class="gmail_default" style=""><font size="4" style="" face="tahoma, sans-serif"><b style="">I gave Gemini this question: </b></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style=""><font face="tahoma, sans-serif"><br></font></div><font size="4" face="tahoma, sans-serif"><b><span class="gmail_default" style="">"</span>Did Donald Trump have anything<span class="gmail_default" style=""> </span>to do with the navy's decision to build "Trump class" battleships?<span class="gmail_default" style="">"</span></b></font></div><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><font size="4"><b><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></span></b></font></div><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="4"><b>And this is what the AI told me:<span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> </span></b></font><font size="4"><b><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></span></b></font></div><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="4"><b><br></b></font></div><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><font size="4"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Gemini<span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">: " </span></b></font><span class="gmail-citation-55 gmail-citation-end-55" style="font-family:"Google Sans Text",sans-serif;line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">Yes, Donald <u>Trump was the primary driver behind the initiative</u>.<span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><sup class="gmail-superscript" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px;background-color:transparent"></sup></span></span><span style="font-family:"Google Sans Text",sans-serif"> The decision to develop "Trump-class" guided-missile battleships was <u>not a bottom-up concept generated natively by Navy planners; rather, it was a direct directive from Trump himself</u>.</span></font><p style="font-family:"Google Sans Text",sans-serif;line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><font size="4">The program took shape through several key actions:</font></p><p style="font-family:"Google Sans Text",sans-serif;line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><font size="4"><br></font></p><h3 style="font-family:"Google Sans",sans-serif;line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><font size="4"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">1</span>. The Mar-a-Lago Announcement</font></h3><p id="gmail-p-rc_2d4ff176ce41a27f-27" style="font-family:"Google Sans Text",sans-serif;line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><font size="4"><span class="gmail-citation-54" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">On </span><b style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><span class="gmail-citation-54" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">December 22, 2025</span></b><span class="gmail-citation-54" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">, Trump held a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate alongside his national security team to officially unveil the </span><b style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><span class="gmail-citation-54" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">"Golden Fleet" initiative</span></b><span class="gmail-citation-54 gmail-citation-end-54" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">.<span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><sup class="gmail-superscript" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px;background-color:transparent"></sup></span></span> <span class="gmail-citation-53 gmail-citation-end-53" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">The centerpiece of this vision is a new class of modern, 35,000-ton battleships designed to resurrect the concept of the American capital ship.<span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><sup class="gmail-superscript" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px;background-color:transparent"></sup></span></span> <span class="gmail-citation-52" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">The first of these ships is planned to be named the </span><i style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><span class="gmail-citation-52" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">USS Defiant</span></i><span class="gmail-citation-52 gmail-citation-end-52" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">.<span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><sup class="gmail-superscript" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px;background-color:transparent"></sup></span></span><span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">  <span class="gmail-ng-star-inserted" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"></span></span></font></p><h3 style="font-family:"Google Sans",sans-serif;line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><font size="4">2. Upending Existing Naval Strategy</font></h3><p id="gmail-p-rc_2d4ff176ce41a27f-28" style="font-family:"Google Sans Text",sans-serif;line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><font size="4"><span class="gmail-citation-51 gmail-citation-end-51" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><u>To make way for Trump's battleship vision, the Navy <b>fundamentally altered its long-term surface combatant plans</b></u>.<span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><sup class="gmail-superscript" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px;background-color:transparent"></sup></span></span> <span class="gmail-citation-50" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">It effectively canceled the </span><b style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><span class="gmail-citation-50" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">DDG(X)</span></b><span class="gmail-citation-50 gmail-citation-end-50" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">—the next-generation destroyer program that naval architects had been quietly engineering for years.<span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><sup class="gmail-superscript" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px;background-color:transparent"></sup></span></span> <span class="gmail-citation-49 gmail-citation-end-49" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">The capabilities originally intended for that platform are being folded into the massive, heavily armored hull of the Trump class.<span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><sup class="gmail-superscript" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px;background-color:transparent"></sup></span></span><span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">  <span class="gmail-ng-star-inserted" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"></span></span></font></p><h3 style="font-family:"Google Sans",sans-serif;line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><font size="4">3. Personal Involvement in Design</font></h3><p style="font-family:"Google Sans Text",sans-serif;line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><font size="4">During his announcement, <u>Trump explicitly stated that <b>he expects to be personally involved in the aesthetics</b> and design process of the warships</u>:</font></p><p style="font-family:"Google Sans Text",sans-serif;line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><font size="4"><br></font></p><blockquote style="font-family:"Google Sans Text",sans-serif;line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><p id="gmail-p-rc_2d4ff176ce41a27f-29" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><font size="4"><span class="gmail-citation-48" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"></span><i style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><span class="gmail-citation-48" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">"<u>The U.S. Navy will lead the design of these ships along with me, because I’m a very aesthetic person</u>, alongside our partners in American industry."</span></i><span class="gmail-citation-48 gmail-citation-end-48" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><sup class="gmail-superscript" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px;background-color:transparent"></sup></span></span><span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">  <span class="gmail-ng-star-inserted" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"></span></span></font></p></blockquote><p id="gmail-p-rc_2d4ff176ce41a27f-30" style="font-family:"Google Sans Text",sans-serif;line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><font size="4"><span class="gmail-citation-47 gmail-citation-end-47" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">He also noted that the ships are meant to evoke the historic prestige of Theodore Roosevelt’s "Great White Fleet" and America's World War II battleships, acting as "unmistakable symbols of national power."<span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><sup class="gmail-superscript" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px;background-color:transparent"></sup></span></span><span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">  <span class="gmail-ng-star-inserted" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"></span></span></font></p><h3 style="font-family:"Google Sans",sans-serif;line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><font size="4">Current Reality and Outlook</font></h3><p id="gmail-p-rc_2d4ff176ce41a27f-31" style="font-family:"Google Sans Text",sans-serif;line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><font size="4"><span class="gmail-citation-46 gmail-citation-end-46" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">Following the directive, Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle quickly formally aligned the service behind the requirement.<span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><sup class="gmail-superscript" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px;background-color:transparent"></sup></span></span><span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">  <span class="gmail-ng-star-inserted" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"></span></span></font></p><p id="gmail-p-rc_2d4ff176ce41a27f-32" style="font-family:"Google Sans Text",sans-serif;line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><font size="4"><span class="gmail-citation-45 gmail-citation-end-45" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">However, defense analysts and lawmakers remain deeply skeptical.<span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><sup class="gmail-superscript" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px;background-color:transparent"></sup></span></span> <span class="gmail-citation-44" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">The proposed ships are slated to cost an estimated </span><b style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><span class="gmail-citation-44" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><u>$17 billion each</u></span></b><span class="gmail-citation-44 gmail-citation-end-44" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"> and require highly immature technologies, including electromagnetic railguns, 300-kilowatt laser systems, and nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missiles.<span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><sup class="gmail-superscript" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px;background-color:transparent"></sup></span></span> <span class="gmail-citation-43 gmail-citation-end-43" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">Because the Navy is starting the design from scratch, <u>the first hull won't enter service until the <b>late 2030s</b></u>.<span style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px"><sup class="gmail-superscript" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px;background-color:transparent"></sup></span></span> <span class="gmail-citation-42 gmail-citation-end-42" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0px">Consequently, Congress has already moved to slow-walk and block construction </span><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">funding until the planned high-tech weapon systems are fully developed.<span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">"</span></span></font></p> <br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div class="msg5748173431581120618"><div lang="EN-US" style="overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div class="m_5748173431581120618WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="georgia, serif"><span class="m_5748173431581120618gmaildefault"><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">> </span>Fun aside on battleships: back in the olden days, the king ordered battleships and did generally write up the specifications.  The Vasa was ordered by Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, in 1626.  Specifications were changed construction after the initial keel had already begun.  The king ordered more cannons and a lot of decorations. </span></span><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Result: the ship was top heavy and capsized on its maiden voyage.</span></font></i></p></div></div></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div><font size="4" face="tahoma, sans-serif"><b>As Mark Twain said<span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> "</span>History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes<span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">"</span>.<span class="gmail_default" style=""> </span></b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="tahoma, sans-serif"><b><br></b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="tahoma, sans-serif"><b><span class="gmail_default" style=""> John K Clark</span> </b></font></div><div><br></div></div></div>