Trump Unveils Battleships Named After Himself. This Stock Took Off.

President Donald Trump wants defense contractors to speed up manufacturing. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg)

Key Points

• President Donald Trump announced a new “Trump class” battleship, including the USS Defiant.
• Huntington Ingalls Industries’ shares rose 5% to $353.52, reaching a record high, following Navy plans for new frigates.
• The announcement occurs amid escalating U.S.-Venezuela tensions, following a U.S. blockade on Venezuelan oil exports.

President Donald Trump unveiled a new battleship class, named after himself, that is intended to become the centerpiece of his new “Golden Fleet.”

Trump made the announcement in front of an artistic rendering of one of the Trump Class ships, called the U.S.S. Defiant. He compared the new vessels to the U.S.S. Iowa and U.S.S. Missouri but said they would be bigger and better.

The plan is to build as many as 25, Trump said, though they would start with two.

Last week, the Navy announced plans to commission a new class of frigates, selecting the shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries to build the vessels.

The developments sent Huntington Ingalls shares up 5% to a record high of $353.52 on Monday. The stock is up 87% this year, on track for its best year since 2013, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It was the third-best performing stock in the S&P 500 on Monday.

Trump made the announcement from Mar-a-Lago, flanked by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Navy Secretary John Phelan. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also there. Trump suggested he would be involved in the design of the program, calling himself a “very aesthetic person.”

The announcement comes amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela, after the president said he would prevent sanctioned oil from passing through Venezuela. Last week, he ordered a blockade of Venezuelan oil exports.

Huntington Ingalls said in a press release last week that it has invested $1 billion in infrastructure, facilities, and toolsets at its shipyard to support next generation systems and platforms.

Trump said he would meet with companies next week at Mar-a-Lago to talk about the production schedules, which could force them to build new plants. The discussions would also include their capital-spending plans and the return of capital via dividends and buybacks. The administration prefers that companies put the money into plant and equipment to speed up the manufacturing process.

Write to Liz Moyer at liz.moyer@barrons.com