U.S. President Donald Trump promised to boost defense spending when he visited a Virginia shipyard Thursday to tour the most expensive warship ever built.
Wearing a military jacket and ball cap, Trump toured the USS Gerald R. Ford, a $12.9 billion warship that has been plagued by cost overruns and delays but is expected to be commissioned later this year. He used the high-profile event to showcase the budget pledge he made this week to dramatically boost U.S. military spending.
During Tuesday night's address to Congress, he said, "To keep America safe, we must provide the men and women of the United States military with the tools they need to prevent war.
The war vessel shifts from steam to electrical power and will be equipped with the best weaponry, communications and operating systems in the nation, according to the builder.
The president's initial request for a $54 billion hike boosts the Pentagon budget to more than $600 billion a year. Calling it one of the largest increases in history, Trump said he would even like $30 billion more than that to strengthen what he called a “depleted military”. By contrast, the State Department receives roughly $50 billion a year for programs including foreign aid, assistance and development.
美国总统川普周四来到弗吉尼亚州的一个造船厂，参观有史以来最昂贵的一艘战舰，并承诺要增加国防开支。
川普穿着军用夹克，头戴棒球帽，巡视了福特号航空母舰。这艘价值129亿美元的军舰造价超支，又出现各种延误，但预计将在今年晚些时候投入使用。川普借这次备受关注的活动来展示他本周提出的大幅提高美国军费开支的承诺。
川普周二晚上在国会发表讲话时说：“为了保护美国的安全，我们必须为美军将士提供他们所需的工具来防止战争。”
建造这艘战舰的公司说，战舰从蒸汽动力改为电力，并配备了最好的武器、通信和操作系统。
川普总统最初的要求是增加540亿美元国防开支，使五角大楼的预算增加到每年6000多亿美元。川普说，这是有史以来军费涨幅最大的一次，他甚至想要再增加300亿美元，以加强他所称的“消耗殆尽的军力”。相比之下，国务院每年得到大约500亿美元用于对外援助和发展等项目。