Trump considering naming America’s largest warship after himself
A massive US aircraft carrier under construction that was going to be named after a black World War II hero will instead be named after Donald Trump, according to reports.
The Ford-class carrier was going to be called the USS Doris Miller, who was the first African-American to win the Navy Cross.
The US Navy wants to rename the USS Doris Miller after Donald Trump. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
But CNN reports the US Navy is instead planning on naming the ship after the president.
The carrier would be the first US Navy vessel named after a sitting president since the USS Van Buren in 1839.
Navy vessels are typically only named after presidents long after they have left office or their deaths.
George W Bush is the most recent president to have a Navy vessel named after him.
The Ford-class carriers are the biggest ships in the US Navy and are powered by nuclear reactors.
The Navy announced the under-construction carrier would be named after Doris Miller in 2020.
Miller was decorated after Pearl Harbor.
The mess attendant was aboard the USS West Virginia when it was attacked by Japanese planes.
Though he had not been trained, he took control of an anti-aircraft gun and shot down at least one plane.
Doris Miller was awarded the Navy Cross for his courageous actions at Pearl Harbor. Naval History and Heritage Command
Given the Navy Cross, it has been argued he was not given the Medal of Honour because of his race. Then-Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox recommended against the highest honour because he did not believe black men should serve in combat roles.
Miller died in 1943 after his ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.
He would be famously played by Cuba Gooding Jr in the movie Pearl Harbor.
The White House or the Pentagon has not commented on the renaming plans.
Last year the Trump administration made the unusual move of renaming a ship named after gay rights icon and Navy veteran Harvey Milk.
Workers preparing to take Donald Trump’s name off the Kennedy Centre. AP Photo/Rahmat Gul
Trump himself has a long history of seeking to rename things after himself.
Last year he pushed to rename Washington arts landmark the Kennedy Centre the Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Centre for the Performing Arts.
In May, a judge ordered his name to be taken off the building.
When construction workers removed his name the following month, they installed scaffolding and a massive tarpaulin covering most of Kennedy’s name.
He renamed the Institute of Peace the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace.
Trump has also put his face on passports, national park passes and on massive banners hanging outside government department buildings.
His signature is also on American paper money.
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