TRANSCRIPT: President Trump Addresses the Troops on the USS George Washington in Japan, 10.28.25
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President Trump: What a group. What a group. All champions. [Audience chants "USA"] USA! [Audience chants "USA"] Well, thank you very much. A big hello. This is a special group of patriots, champions, winners. You are winners. Oh, I'd love to have your job. I'd love to have your job. And a very special hello to the greatest sailors anywhere in the seas, the incredible men and women of the United States Navy.
Very special people. Thank you very much. It's a great honor. Great honor to be here. But I'm thrilled to be here among thousands of proud American patriots aboard the 100,000 tons, that's a lot of tonnage -- [Laughter] -- forward-deployed symbol of American might, power and prestige, the legendary USS George Washington.
This is some ship. They don't make 'em this way anymore, but we don't, we're not supposed to say that, but they really don't. This is, this is great stuff. This is really an incredible -- GW. They call it GW, right? It's, uh -- and we've come this afternoon to celebrate the strength and the skill and service of everyone on this ship.
So we're gonna all relax. We're gonna have a good time. We're not going anywhere. You know, if you go back to Washington, it's, like, 2:00 in the morning. But I wanna just tell you that you are special people and we're gonna have a little fun, and I'm gonna tell you how great our country is and how well we're doing, 'cause a year and a half ago, we had a different country than we do right now.
Now we're the most respected country in the world. We're the hottest country anywhere in the world, and it hasn't taken too long. But, uh, I had no doubt. I just didn't know we were gonna do it this fast. We've done it fast because of people like you. So I wanna thank you very much. And I wanna recognize a man that you all know well.
And he's a tough cookie. He was formerly our Secretary of Defense, but now he is proudly known as our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. And, you know, I don't say this. He gave up a hell of a job. They were gonna pay him millions of dollars. They didn't want him to leave that crazy Fox. They didn't want him to leave, but he wanted -- You know, every time I'd go on that show, all he wanted to talk about is the military.
And I said, "You know, if I ever do this, I'm gonna bring this guy along with me." He knew more about it than anybody. He didn't wanna be doing the other stuff, and he had a chance. He could have made so much money he wouldn't have known. He wa- -- he didn't want that. This is what you wanted, Pete. He's so happy now.
Those drug ships aren't coming in anymore. We can't find a ship. There's no ships coming in with drugs, you know. It's, like, he's, uh, he's been incredible. So thank you very much, Pete. You gave up a lot. We appreciate it. Thank you. And unlike past administrations, we will not be politically correct. You don't mind that, do you?
When it comes to defending the United States, we're no longer politically correct. We're gonna defend our country any way we have to, and that's usually not the politi- -- politically correct way. From now on, if we're in a war, we're gonna win the war. We're gonna win it like nobody ever before. You know, we'd go in, we'd blast the hell outta countries.
Shouldn't have gone in. By the way, if you don't go in, that's even better. We don't have to go in peace through strength, but, you know, we'd go in, we'd win, and then we'd leave. They used to say to the victor belong the spoils. Well, we'd be the victor that would leave, 'cause we had people that didn't know what the hell they were doing.
But we're also very honored to be joined by hundreds of our incredible Japanese partners. And they are incredible. Thank you very much. Thank you. This woman -- That's right. This woman is a winner. So, you know, we've become very close (laughs) friends all of a sudden because their stock market today and our stock market today hit an all-time high.
That means we're doing something right. But the cherished alliance between the United States and Japan is one of the most remarkable relationships in the entire world. Really there's never been anything like it. Born out of the ashes of a terrible war, our bond has grown over eight decades into the beautiful friendship that we have.
It's a foundation of peace and security in the Pacific. You see it? So on behalf of all American sailors stationed in this beautiful country, let's hear it for our allies and the Japanese self-defense forces and all of the Japanese people that we love and respect. And I have such respect for Japan and the country, and now I have a really great respect for the new and incredible prime minister, and I have to say this, the first female prime minister in the history of Japan.
Madam Prime Minister, please, say a few words, please.
Sanae Takaichi: [In English] Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you all. Uh, so --
[? AI Transcription] ??? ??? ?? ? ?? ?? 250?? ??? ?? ? ?? ?? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ?? ? ?? ?? ???? ????? ? ?? ?? ???? ? ???? ? ??? ??? ?? ? ?? ???
[? AI Translation: "Interpreter. Today, on this memorable occasion of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States Navy, I am truly honored to have the opportunity to speak with President Trump aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, a symbol of freedom and peace in the region."]
[Via Translator] This year marks the US Navy's semiquincentennial anniversary. As we celebrate the important milestone, I'm truly honored to have this opportunity to deliver remarks with President Trump aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, a symbol of protecting freedom and peace in this region.
[? AI Transcription] ?? ?? ? ?? ? ??? ??? ? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ? ? ???? ? ?? ??? ?? ??? ?? ? ? ? ?? ? ???? ?? ? ?? ? ??? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ??? [? AI Translation: "First and foremost, I would like to offer my heartfelt respect and gratitude to the members of the Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military and servicemen and women stationed in Japan who work day and night to ensure the peace and security of our country and the region."]
[Via Translator] First and foremost, I would like to express my deep respect and sincere gratitude to all the men and women in uniform from Japan's Self-defense Forces and the US Forces Japan for your dedication and commitment to safeguard peace and security of our nation and the region day and night.
[? AI Transcription] 6? ? ? -- [? AI Translation: "6 years ago --"] [Applause] Arigato. Thank you.
[? AI Transcription] 6? ?? ?? ??? ? ? ? ???? ??? ? ???? ? ?? ? 3 ?? ?? ? ? ? ??? ? ? ???? ?? ?? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ? ? ?? ??? ?? ? ?? ?? ?? [? AI Translation: "Six years ago, here in Yokosuka, President Trump and the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed their determination that Japan and the United States would work hand in hand to ensure peace and security in this region."]
[Via Translator] Six years ago at this same place here in Yokosuka City, the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Trump stood side by side and demonstrated their resolve that Japan and the United States would join hands to ensure peace and security in this region.
[? AI Transcription] ? ?? ? ?? ? ? ? ?? ?? ? ? ???? ? ?? ?? ?? ? ? ?? ?? ? ????? ??? ??? ?? ? ?? ? ? ?? ? ?? ??? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ? ? ? ?? ?? ? ?? ? ? ?? ?? [? AI Translation: "Now, on this occasion, with the commanders-in-chief of Japan and the United States once again standing side by side, I have taken up that resolve and renewed my determination to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific, a region that serves as the cornerstone of peace and prosperity."]
[Via Translator] Now, as the two commanders-in-chief of Japan and the United States stand together, once again, I have renewed my determination to carry forward that resolve and to make the Indo-Pacific free and open so that it'll serve as the foundation of peace and prosperity for the entire region.
[? AI Transcription] ?? ?? ? ??? ?? ?? ??? ?? ?? ?? ? ?? ? ? ? ??? ?? ? ?? ?? ? ? ??? ???? ?? ? ?? ???? ?? ?? ? ??? [? AI Translation: "We are now facing an unprecedentedly challenging security environment. Peace cannot be maintained by words alone, but by firm determination and deeds."]
[Via Translator] Now we are facing an unprecedented, severe security environment. Peace cannot be preserved by words alone. It can be protected only when there is an unwavering determination and action.
[? AI Transcription] ??? ? ??? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ?? ? ?? ?? ???? ????? ? ??? ? ?? ? ?? ? ? ?? ?? ??? ??? ? ?? ?? ? ?? ?? ? ??? ? ?? ? ? ?? ? ? ??? ??? ?? ?? ? ? ? ?? ?? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ????? ?? ? ? ?? ?? ???? ? ? ? ? ??? ? ? ? ?? ?? ? ? ? ?? ?? ?? ? ? ?? ? ?? ? ? ? ?? ??? [? AI Translation: "Over there you can see the Mogami and Maya, along with members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The George Washington has undergone numerous training exercises. Furthermore, the many Japanese and American personnel involved in supply and maintenance in Yokosuka, as well as the strong ties with the local community, have supported the activities of the U.S. Navy for many years. This multi-layered cooperation between Japan and the United States ensures our deterrence and response capabilities."]
[Via Translator] From where we stand, we can see Maritime Self-defense Forces, Mogami and Maya, vessels of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force and USS George Washington have conducted numerous joint exercises. Just as importantly, there are so many Japanese and American personnel working for logistics and maintenance here in Yokosuka. And there's also a strong sense of bond with the local community here. Those are what have been supporting the activities of US Navy over the years. There's no doubt that such multi-layered Japan-US cooperation is what makes this possible for us to ensure the credibility of our two nations deterrence and response capabilities.
[? AI Transcription] ? ? ?? ? ? ? ??? ??? ?? ? ?? ? ? ?? ? ? ?? ? ?? ?? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ??? 1? ?? ? ? ?? ? ? ?? ??? [? AI Translation: "I am determined to drastically strengthen Japan's defense capabilities and contribute even more proactively to peace and stability in this region."]
[Via Translator] So let me reiterate my unwavering determination here, Japan is committed to fundamentally reinforce its defense capabilities, and Japan is ready to contribute even more proactively to peace and stability of the region.
[? AI Transcription] ?? ?? ???? ???? ??? ????? ?? ? ?? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ? ? ? ?? ? ???? ?? ? ???? ? ??? ??? [? AI Translation: "In doing so, together with President Trump, I will elevate the Japan-U.S. alliance, which has become the greatest alliance in the world, to even greater heights."]
[Via Translator] Through these efforts together with President Trump, I am determined to elevate the Japan-US Alliance, which has already become the greatest alliance in the world to even greater, greater heights.
[? AI Transcription] ? ? ? ??? ? ? ??? ?? ? ?? ? ? ? ? ?? ??? ?? ??? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ? ? ? ? ? ?? ?? ? ? ?? ?? ? ?? ? ? ? ??? [? AI Translation: "Japan and the United States will march together across free and open seas. I am confident that the actions spun from Yokosuka will lead the bonds between our two countries into a brighter future."]
[Via Translator] Japan and the United States will advance together, with our sails raised high across a free and open sea. And I am very confident that the sea route from Yokosuka will make our bond even stronger and stronger, and bring our two nations on a path to a shining future.
[In English] Thank you. [Applause]
Trump: That was beautiful. Thank you very much. And uh, we will have a long, good relationship and we'll have fun doing it. You know, you have to have fun, although sometimes it's never fun. She's tough to negotiate with, I wanna tell you. [Laughter] But I'm delighted to report that I've just approved the first batch of missiles.
You saw a couple of them coming down with me. I hugged them. We need them. They're the best in the world. Nobody has 'em like we have 'em. They all want our missiles. That's the problem. Everybody wants 'em, but it's the first batch of missiles to be delivered to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces for Japan's F-35s, and they're coming this week.
So they're ahead of schedules. I just want to tell Madam Prime Minister. They've been waiting for those missiles and we got 'em here right away as soon as I heard about it. I wanna thank Senator, former senator -- A great gentleman by the way. He was so popular, but I took him out and I made him Secretary of State.
I think he was born for it, Marco Rubio. Thank you very much. Marco. Where are you, Marco? Great guy. Great job. He was born for it. Ambassador George Glass, thank you very much. George, good job you're doing. Thank you. And many of our outstanding uniform leaders with us today, including the head of the Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Paparo.
Where is Samuel? Oh, hello. Good. But these are good-looking people. You could make a movie with these guys. They're like central casting -- look at this group of people. Commander of the US Forces Japan, General Stephen Jost. Thank you Stephen. Thank you very much. The commander of the Seventh -- Eh, oh, that's a big deals, I think.
Do you wanna switch jobs for one week? Only For one week. All right. [Laughter] Seventh Fleet, big stuff, Vice Admiral Fred Kacher. Fred, thank you very much. That's great. And the commander of Carrier Strike Group Five, Rear Admiral Eric Pappy Anduze. Hello Pappy. That's great. Good. Thank you very much.
And of course, we can't forget about your command triad aboard the George Washington. There's nothing like this one. This is a beauty. And I hear your commanding officer's a big Alabama football fan. You know, I love Alabama. I love Alabama. Captain Timothy Waits. And let me just say Roll Tide. You know, I love Alabama.
Roll Tide. Where's Timothy? Where's Timothy? That was a hell of a game this week. Uh, I don't know how the hell you pulled that one out. That was -- [Laughter] If you didn't win, I wouldn't have mentioned it. I would've just introduced you. I wouldn't have, uh -- But you came back from oblivion. Isn't it nice coming back?
You know, coming back is good. Thanks as well to your XO Captain Patrick Blind. Patrick? Where is he, Patrick? Patrick, thank you. Highly respected person. All of these people are the best. Look at 'em. I mean, you look at 'em, they could have any job they wanted. They could walk down to Wall Street, make a fortune.
They wouldn't do that. They like what they're doing and nobody does it better. As well as really one of the most important people on the ship. Uh, have you ever heard of Command Master Chief Tony Roberts? Have you ever heard of him? [Laughter] Wherever you are. Where's Tony? Thank you. Thank you Tony. He's a popular guy.
And as many of you know, this month we're celebrating a truly momentous anniversary. 250 years of courage and pride, honor and victory by the United States Navy. 250 years. Can you imagine? And three weeks ago, Melania and I flew to Naval Station Norfolk. I think many of you probably know that. And witnessed an unforgettable display of pure American dominance.
Let's say, it was incredible to watch. They gave us some pl -- Then I said, slow it down, costs a lot of money. Let's save it. You know, let's just, let's relax a little bit. [Laughter] They gave us some great display from the thunderous roar of the guided missile, destroyers, never saw anything like it, to the spectacular side of nuclear submarines all over the place, to the unstoppable force of another great American aircraft carrier.
One thing was clear, that no enemy will ever even dream of threatening America's navy. There's no Navy even close. Not even close. You hear about some of them doing ships, but nobody can do what we do. Nobody has what we have. And we also have the best equipment that rides along in those ships. You see that.
Nobody makes equipment like we do. Nobody makes the ammunition, the weapons, the missiles, the planes, none of it. And if they do, the American sailor stands ready to crush them and sink them and wreck them and blast them into oblivion. Right? And that's a terrible statement for me to make. That's the end of it. Because everybody said that I should immediately get the Nobel Peace award.
With that statement, that takes me outta the running, but that's the way [Laughter] -- that's the way it is. United States is blessed with the strongest and most powerful military in the history of the world. There's no military like our military. Not even close. Nobody has our weapons, and it'll be stronger and more powerful than ever before very soon.
You know, we just approved the biggest budget in the history. Over a trillion dollars. Over a trillion dollars. We have the best ships, the best airplanes, the best submarines, the best technology. But, above all, we have America's military. It's, uh, the best people. It's all about the people, ultimately, who have to work all of that fancy stuff that we make better than anybody else.
The fact is, we do make the best weapons, but if you don't have the right people to operate those weapons, they don't mean much. Despite that, as Commander-in-Chief, I never forget that our ultimate strength does not come from equipment, it comes from the men and women of the rank and file. That's true. It comes from you people, incredible people, good-looking people.
Too many good-looking people. I don't like good-looking people. [Laughter] I never liked good-looking people. I'll be honest with you. I've never admitted that before. It's -- but see, I'm allowed to -- See, you know, we wanted the Supreme Court to think based on merit. You know about that, right? Merit.
Everything now in our country is based on merit. And that's why I look at you and I see nothing but merit. It's great to have a country back where we can go by merit now. We don't go by anything else except for talent and work, and hard work. And it's such a big win. That was such -- one of the most important wins.
And the will, patriotism, and spirit in your hearts is our single greatest weapon. The strength that you have is unbelievable. That's why, as we make a record investment in our military, we've never spent so much and we've never spent it more wisely, because now we watch it. We spend it properly. I'm also supporting an across-the-board pay raise for every sailor and service member in the United States Armed Forces.
Now, if you don't want it, you want to give back to your country, just let us know, we won't give it to you. Is there anybody in that category? Ah. (Laughs) But now all we really have to do is get the Democrats to approve it. [Laughter] But they'll come along. They always do. You know. They always do. And because I heard that the sailors on the George Washington took a hit to your family separation pay, you know what I'm talking about, right?
You took a little hit to be here, right? By returning to the port, you returned early for this event. I am delighted to announce that as your sort of boss, I don't feel like your boss, but I guess I am. At least, you'll be happy about this one. At my direction, we're going to make sure that you receive the full amount that you were owed for the deployment.
And we're not gonna deduct anything, because you came in to listen to your, your commander, your -- I'd like to be an admiral. I always wanted to be an admiral, to be honest. [Laughter] Don't tell, don't tell the other, the other people that I love so much. You know, they sit around the table, they have all those beautiful Stars and Stripes.
But I'll tell you what. I love -- I a- -- always love the admirals. I love those uniforms. And I look at these guys, I don't think I woulda done very well if I had to compete with these people. They're too good. But I always felt that the Navy is a very special group of people, and I see it when I see you. I see it. Over the past 11 months, the spirit of our military has been soaring like never before.
You know that. The spirit of our country's been soaring. After years of recruiting shortages, and we had bad ones, it was embarrassing, frankly. During my campaign, before the election, November 5th, after that, it all changed. After we won, it all changed. And now we have waiting lists, with record numbers, trying to join the US Navy, and all of the armed forces.
We have literal waiting lists. And I'm pleased to report that 2025 was the Navy's single best recruiting year in many generations. That's pretty good, isn't it? But, you know, think of it. It's -- it seems like I've been up here so long and it seems like I've been doing this for a long time, and I have.
We, we had a great first term, but, uh, nothing like what's happening now. We had the greatest economy in the history of our country. I rebuilt the military in the first term, and then they gave a lot of it away to Afghanistan. But it was really just a tiny speck. But it was the concept of what it was. But we rebuilt the military and we did so many things in the first term, but we're blowing it away right now.
But think of it, just one year ago, I was in the middle of a campaign. Can you believe that? It doesn't feel that way. I, I said, "You know, you're right. It's not November 5th yet. We have another week or so to go." I was campaigning one year ago, and look at all the things that we've done since this, uh, this unbelievable day, November 5th. That's when it all changed.
When we won on November 5th, it all changed, and we went from a country that wasn't respected and a lot of people that had no spirit. That includes joining the police, the fire departments, they didn't want to join. After that, they started joining. And it seems like 10 years ago, not less than a year, think of it, less than a year ago, I was campaigning.
You know, we won the second election by a lot, so we had to just prove it by winning the third, by, uh, too big to rig, I called it. It was too big to rig. And it was an amazing, it was an amazing victory. And thank goodness we won because we were in big trouble. We were in big, big trouble. But the new recruits, every sailor aboard this ship has answered a sacred call of duty to cross any ocean, fight any battle, and defend America and its allies with unwavering resolve.
As you know, the George Washington is the only aircraft carrier on earth that is permanently stationed overseas. It's permanent. Now, if you'd like to take a trip back to America, hell, let's do it one time. Well, I'll join you, I'd (laughs) love to join you. You know, when I landed on this, it doesn't feel like a ship, it's solid.
This is a solid piece of stuff. These 4.5 acres of power and seal are the front line of American freedom in the Pacific. Every day you're taking risk to keep our country safe and to defend peace and security in this incredible part of the world, working with Japan, working with other nations. I just left Malaysia.
We stopped a big war with, you know that, we stopped eight wars. Can you imagine? In eight months, I stopped eight wars. Like, I stopped a war month. Think of that. That's pretty good. But I just left Malaysia, thank them because they helped us very much with one of them. And actually for even a second, they're great people and they send their regards.
I spent a day there with the Prime Minister and we had a, we had a good time. But you carry out your mission bravely, you carry it out brilliantly, and on behalf of all Americans, I just want to say, and I came over to say it loud and clear, thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Incredible people. You are incredible people.
Yeah. They actually have the best location, 'cause if they're really good looking, they end up in Hollywood. You know, you're not gonna, you have a great look -- [Laughter] -- but you're not gonna end in Hollywood, they can just see the back of your head, all the media. [Laughter] Look at all the fake news back there. [Laughter] But two years ago, Naval Air Crewman, 3rd class, James McCall was just a few months into his first fleet tour with the Golden Falcons Helicopter Squadron, when he and his crew were called on a search and rescue mission to find three missing navy divers.
Incredible, brave guys, the divers. [Audience cheers] But they were stranded at sea, and right off the Japanese coast, they were exhausted, and assuming they were going to die, they assumed they were going to die. But with unbelievable focus and skill, Crewman McCall was able to find and help rescue all three divers in the water below, saving his fellow sailors.
And James is with us today as a shipmate on this carrier, Crewman McCall. Thank you very much for your incredible bravery, and we salute you. Where is James? Where are you James? [Audience members call out, inaudibly] Whoa. Come up, James. Get up here, James. Come. Come up here. Look at this guy, he's a good looking guy.
He's a good-looking guy. Get outta here, James. I don't want you up here. Oh, come here, James.
James McCall: Nice to meet you.
Trump: You wanna say something?
McCall: Uh --
Trump: Come on. [Audience members shout encouragement]
McCall: [Laughs] Uh -- [Audience members shout encouragement] -- I just wanna say, I appreciate all my fellow shipmates. What I did back then in Iwakuni, it was heartbreaking for losing those loved ones down there, but we brought some back whenever we went down there. And just God bless America and all my fellow shipmates. Appreciate it. And stay a bad Larry.
Trump: I was wondering, maybe he almost stayed up, he could have been up here for a while. [Laughter] You did that very well. He's gonna be running for office next week, you watch. [Laughter] Great job, James. A lot of bravery too. But as James' story reminds us, the Navy is a family and a team, and each of you has a vital role to play.
Gathered here this afternoon, are some of those whose toil and sweat gets our magnificent planes in the air and brings them safely back home. And we have the shooters and the gear dogs and the paddles and the white shirts, and of course, the blue shirts, the yellow shirts, the red shirts on the flight deck.
And all over the hangar bay. I want to thank you all. You're incredible people. I saw some of you, they're, they we're rushing to get down here and they want to take pictures up there, you know, they're very aggressive people. "Sir, could I have a picture?" They're supposed to be standing in attention. "Sir, could I have a picture, sir?" Yeah.
You know what I'm talking about, right? Very aggressive, but I think they're great. We also have a real genius who's the -- And these people are incredible. Who maintain the largest and most complex machine ever built, our amazing mechanics and engineers on the -- And I asked your captain. You know I'm building the aircraft, I'm building a lot of things.
But I said, "Captain, you gotta tell me something. I know a lot about these ships, I know a lot about these things, building. I want to know catapults. Uh, which is better, the electric, or the steam?" [Audience responds "Steam"] Okay, ready? Or you guys, that's what you do, right? This is so much better.
You know, they go out, hire a consultant for millions of dollars that was never on an aircraft carrier before, so they switched to electric. I disagree with it, but it's all right. Let me ask you. We're gonna go steam first and then electric. Catapults, which is better, electric, or steam? [Audience responds "Steam"] I'm gonna put in an order.
Seriously, they're spending billions of dollars to build stupid electric. And the problem, when it breaks, you have to send up to MIT, get the most brilliant people in the world, fly 'em out. It's ridiculous. The steam, they, they say they can fix it with a hammer and a blowtorch, and it works just as well, if not better, and I love the sight of that beautiful steam pouring off that deck with the electric.
You don't have that. So, you know, we did the Ford in electric, the co- -- cost overruns, everything else, but, you know, I hope it's gonna be okay, but I like steam. We're gonna go back to steam. They, they changed just for the sake of changing. I said to the architect, "Have you ever designed a ship before?
You know, you only did the biggest ship in the world, right, the Ford?" But, uh, we're gonna go back. Okay, now, let me ask you the second question. Hydraulic for your elevators, or magnets? You know, the new thing is magnets. So instead of using hydraulic that you can be hit by lightning and it's fine, you take a little glass of water and you drop it on magnets, I don't know what's gonna happen.
So, you know, the elevators come up in the new carriers. I think I'm gonna change it, by the way. They have magnets, not -- Every tractor has hydraulic. Every, every excavator, every excavating machine, if any kind has hydraulic, but somebody decided to use magnets for your eleva- -- Maybe they're good. Which is better, hydraulic? [Audience response affirmatively] Or magnets?
What the hell is wrong with these -- Can I ask you the top ranking gentleman right here? Seriously, I'm putting out an order. I'm gonna sign an executive order. When we build aircraft carriers, it's steam for the catapults and it's hydraulic for the elevators. We'll never have a problem, okay? [Audience members respond "Aye aye, sir."] Do you agree?
He agrees. Everybody agrees, but, oh, these people in Washington. All right, we're gonna do that. I'm serious about it. It bothered me so much. I'd see the, the costs come in, they spend 900 -- This is not on my watch. So, you know, if it was on my watch, I would be very quiet about it. I wouldn't be talking about it. They spent $993 million on the catapults trying to get them to work, and they had steam, which worked so beautifully.
And it has for 50 years, right? So we're gonna go back. Seriously, fellas, I wanna make that change. I'm gonna do an executive order. I'm not gonna let them continue to do this now. They're trying to make it work. They're trying so hard and they have something that's perfect. So we're gonna go back on that and the magnets, thank you very much.
And, of course, we cannot forget the daredevils and the pilots of the famed Carrier Air Wing Five known as Team Badmen. What the hell is that all about? Who are they? They are -- Are they? They're bad. The elite air units aboard this vessel are storied squadrons like the Royal Maces, the Diamond Bat, the Argonauts, the Chippies, the Titans, the Tiger Tails, the Shadowhawks, and the Saberhawks, all, all great brave people.
They're all incredible. You're all incredible people. Do you know, they say, and I, I -- You know, I love it. I, I love aviation. I actually had a brother who's a pilot. And see, Biden used to say he was a pilot. He was a pilot, he was a truck dri- -- Whatever, whoever walked in. He wasn't a pilot. Wasn't much of a president either, to be honest with you, that I can tell you.
That we all know. But, uh, they say the hardest thing to do is landing a plane on an aircraft carrier. You ever hear that? And great pilots can do everything. They're great pilots, but they can't do that. It's a very special talent. So the people that do that, that are in this room, uh, they're, you're a very small group of people.
Uh, tremendously talented pilots cannot do it for a lot of reasons. There are a lot of reasons. A lot of it's right up here, so I have great respect. The hardest thing you can do as a pilot is land. You know, that this, this ship is so big. But when you're up there in the Pacific with the Atlantic and the waves are crashing and it's getting dark, or it is dark, which is even worse, getting dark is better.
But when you're up there, they say it looks like a little needle in the ocean. It's just a very little, a little thing and you're landing on top. So I have great respect when I see them, uh, land, you know, three weeks ago they were landing and doing it beautifully. They had very talen- -- They're very, very talented people and nobody embodies skill and nerve and swagger and the attitude like a US naval aviator.
So I have great respect for you all. Thank you very much. It's one of the reasons I'm here. That's why I'm here, not someone else. I didn't need this. I didn't need the whole damn job. I could have been doing -- I could've had a nice -- I had such a beautiful life. Such a -- But you know what? We're making America greater than ever before, and that's why I'm doing it. And we are, we are doing numbers that nobody's ever seen.
Nobody ever even thought possibly for. Think of it, a year ago, we were a dead country. We're like a dead country, and now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world. There's nobody even close. It's pretty amazing, I'll tell you. None of it would be possible. All of these things that we're doing, all of the respect that we have, it's really because of people like yourself and the armed forces generally.
It's amazing the job that you all do. None of it would've been possible. And all of those important missions in the Navy, the devoted members of the food service division, serving up to 14,000 meals every single day. How's the food? [Audience replies "Good"] They say it's good. Is it good? I hope it's good.
It's probably my kind of food. I like that kind of food, but they don't get the credit they deserve. I wanna just thank 'em very much and, uh, congratulate. 14,000 meals. Let's also hear it for all the sailors holding the American flag high at CFAY, as well as the crews from the ferocious, DESRON 15. DESRON 15. But together, the sailors here today give your very best to our nation.
And as your Commander-in-Chief, I'm fighting every single day to ensure that we give you our very best also. We do. We do. We're giving you everything. We're giving you more than anybody's ever given. We're bringing it up to a standard that nobody's ever seen before. We're starting to make ships. Also, part of our deal with the trade is we're starting to make ships.
We used to be number one at making ships and then we lost our way. But now, we're starting to make ships again, and we'll do it very soon. It's not gonna take that long, but it's a process. It's not like making a bullet. It's not like making -- It's a big, long process. We've got it going though, I think in the right direction.
I think within a short period of time, the Philadelphia yards, as an example, is now owned by a group that's gonna be making a lot of ships. A lot. A good group of people. And we're gonna be working also with Japan on making ships. We're gonna make a lot of ships again. We used to make -- Think of it, we were number one.
And then over the years, they just lost their way. They started making other things. They stopped making ships. We're gonna be making ships again. We've more than, think of this, $17 trillion, trillion with a T, pouring into the United States of America from all over the world. And that's the biggest number in the history of any country.
And by the time -- And this is in eight months, really. We're here nine, but this is in eight months, over $17 trillion. As an example, the last administration did less than a trillion in four years. We did 17, more than 17 trillion in eight months. And I think by the time we finish up our first year, we're gonna be over $20 or $21 trillion of money coming into our country.
And I want to thank Japan, because Japan is making big investments into the United States. And they're very happy because the stock market's gone up very nicely. We've made Japan a lot of money. That's okay, but they're a big investor in our country and we like that. But, uh, think of those numbers, we weren't doing anywhere near.
We were left at, and now they're all saying they've never seen anything like what's happened in such a short period of time. And I was just told by the prime minister that Toyota is going to be putting auto plants all over the United States to the tune of over $10 billion, so that's Toyota. So go out and buy a Toyota.
And that's a lot to do with, uh -- Because right now, we have all the AI plants, we have so many things happening in the United States, and it's because of November 5th election day, but it's also because of tariffs. The tariffs have been so good. It -- We're taken in trillions and trillions of dollars. I heard them, before I came up, I heard on -- You're all on television now.
They're talking to all the networks, all -- Everybody is covering it. Look at these characters back. Look at all of them. And you're all -- And they were talking about the tariffs. The tariffs have -- Nobody understood tariffs like I understood tariffs. And the tariffs are, uh, having people go into our country and spend tremendous numbers like we've never seen, and that brings jobs with it. It brings jobs, it brings importance, it brings everything.
It brings a strong military, it brings a lot of things to other countries. I mean, if you look at some of the deals that we did, if, uh, India was going to go to war with Pakistan and I say, "You go to war, we're not gonna do any trade." We was gonna put big tariffs on both countries. And they said, "Well, I guess we're not gonna go to war." Two nuclear powers, we stopped it, but we stopped a lot of wars.
Tariffs, without tariffs, we wouldn't have national security like we have it. We've never had national security like we have it right now. And literally, a year ago, you had very little national security. You had people that didn't have a clue.American strength is roaring back like never before. And with your help, America is respected once more and it is respected at levels that we haven't seen before.
On my first day back in the White House, I deployed the men and women of the United States military to stop the invasion on our southern border, right? It was an invasion, losing hundreds of thousands of people to fentanyl and to drugs. And now we have the most secure border in American history. For five months, they said zero, no people came into our country illegally.
They came in through a legal process, but nobody came in through the southern border. Can you imagine? Even I can't, I, it's hard to believe that because -- And we do have it tight as a drum, but that's what we have to have. If you don't have borders, if you don't have a fair media, if -- You know, you need certain things, you need a good, fair media.
They're getting better. They're not there yet, that I can tell you, but they're getting better. But you need borders. You gotta have borders in a country or you don't have a country. And now we have a border that, the likes of which this country has never seen before. And people respect us for it. With the help of our warfighters, we're decimating the savage drug cartels that poison our people. 200,000 people, maybe more than that, died last year because of what came into our country through an open border policy where 25 million people poured into our country, totally unvetted, totally unchecked.
They came from prisons, they came from mental institutions and insane asylum. They were drug dealers. They were bad people. 11,388 were murderers, half of which committed more than one murder. They let 'em into our country. We're getting 'em the hell out. We're getting them out. We're getting them out fast.
Is that okay with you? Yes. Right? I have no doubt. Gotta get him out. Just an unforced era. And we're also straightening out our cities. You know, Washington D.C., our beautiful capital, was a, a killing mess. People getting killed all the time. It was very high crime. And we sent in our National Guard.
Again, great people, and uh, I don't say they were totally politically correct, that's okay. And now it's a very safe, now it's considered a very safe -- It took 12 days, we got 1700 people, career criminals, many of which came in through Biden's open border, and they infiltrated our nation's capital and we had a very unsafe capital.
But for years before that, it was very unsafe. Now it's as safe as there is anywhere in the country. You can have your daughter, your girlfriend, your wife, your boyfriend, walk right in through the middle, nobody's gonna touch 'em. The crime is down to almost nothing. It's a whole different ballgame. It took literally 12 days, but let's give us a month to do it really -- We had it drum tight, and it's a beautiful thing.
And our, our people in the service what, and you know, people don't care if we send in our military, if we send in our National Guard, if we send in space command, they don't care who the hell it is, they just wanna be safe, and we have safe cities. Now we're starting in Memphis. And Memphis was a disaster.
It's been there, they've been there for two weeks, and it's a whole different story. Crime is less than half, and within a month, it'll be gone. Getting rid of all the bad ones. And we're gonna go into Chicago, we're gonna go into our cities, we're gonna clean 'em out, we're gonna straighten 'em out, and we are gonna have safe cities because you wanna protect safe cities.
We're gonna have beautiful, safe cities. And it's happening very quickly and very easily, actually. It's easy for us, it's hard for, for them. And, uh, we have to have a little more help. It doesn't matter really. We could do as we wanna do, but it would be nice to have more help from some of the Democrat governors that don't mind.
In Chicago, two weeks ago, four people murdered, 11 people shot. This weekend, it was like terrible, much worse than that. And then we have a governor that stands up and says, oh, it's wonderful. It's not wonderful. And what we're doing is we're gonna make it totally safe. It'll be very safe very soon. And we're doing that with all of our cities that are troubled.
We have cities that are troubled. We can't have cities that are troubled and we are sending in our National Guard. And if we need more than the National Guard, we'll send more than the National Guard because we're gonna have safe cities. We're not gonna have people killed in our cities. And whether people like that or not, that's what we're doing.
And you've been watching what our missiles do to boats and ships and submarines. How about the submarine? They said, "No, that was just fishing." The radical left Democrats said, "Well, it was a submarine, but they were just fishing." Submarines don't go fishing, do they? You know more about submarines than I do. You have a beauty parked outside actually.
This is a submarine, and you know what it was designed for transporting drugs and it got hit. But each one of those vessels that we hit kill on average 25,000 people, American people, every single year. They kill -- each one of them kill 25,000 people. So we have to stop it and we have stopped it. And uh, I want to thank Pete for having the courage to do it. And believe me, people are very honored that you do it. 25,000 people for each boat.
For many years, the drug cartels have waged war in America and at long last, we're finally waging war on the cartels. Were waging war like they've never seen before. And we're gonna win that battle. We're winning it already. The sea -- I mean, the only problem is nobody wants to go into the sea anymore. Even the fishing boats, they say, "Let's take a pass." But they don't want that.
But we're knocking 'em out one by one. And very importantly, we've stopped, almost stopped completely, the drugs coming in by sea. And now we'll stop the drugs coming in by land. That's gonna be very easy. More importantly, we're ending wars. We're ending wars all over this planet. And as you know, and I said before, I ended eight wars in eight months, the most of any president in history.
No president that we know has ever ended any war. A lot of 'em go into wars. But this includes Kosovo and Serbia, the Congo and Rwanda, Pakistan and India, Israel and Iran. You saw that. How about those B-2 bombers? They went in there, they took out that nuclear capability. They would've had -- Iran would've had a nuclear weapon within two months.
Not anymore. Egypt and Ethiopia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. That was going on for 35 years. Big, horrible war. And just this month, we ended the war in Gaza in the Middle East. We ended the war in the Middle East. Nobody thought it was possible. And we also just signed a deal in Malaysia between a war that was just starting, Cambodia and Thailand.
So we saved millions and millions of lives. And I did it mostly verbally. We didn't have to get you involved. When we don't get you involved, that's a good thing. We don't want you to get involved. If I can avoid you getting involved, if I have an ability to do things that maybe other people don't or we see things, but we stopped a lot of those wars based on trade and tariffs and penalties and, you know, they're gonna get -- they're getting all ready to fight.
And then we tell 'em, "No more trading with the United States. We're putting tariffs on your nation, et cetera, et cetera." It's called national security for us, but it's really national security for the whole world. And everywhere we go, America is actually making peace and it's peace through strength. When they look at this, when they look at you people, they say, "We're not gonna mess around with them." So it's very important after years of crippling inflation.
Back home, we had the worst inflation in the history of our country. Energy costs are down. You know, energy costs are way down. Gasoline prices are way down. Grocery prices are way down. We have a little problem with beef. We're gonna get that down very quickly. But the prices are way down. Mortgage rates are down despite having an incompetent head of the Fed.
I call him Too Late. He's always too late. He's too late in lowering interest rates. So I call him Jerome Too Late Powell. But despite having a totally grossly incompetent guy, we have a -- we just -- we, we blow through it 'cause we're doing so well. Inflation has been defeated and workers' wages are raising at the fastest pace in 60 years, and that includes your wages.
They're rising in the fastest pace. The workers, I'm not talking about the rich people. Rich people -- everyone is doing well. Everyone in our country is now doing well. My first term, we built the greatest economy in the history of the world. We had an economy like nobody has seen before and now, we're doing it again, but this time actually it's going to be much bigger, much stronger.
I told you, $17 trillion, but it's gonna be 20, $21 trillion. And that's numbers that have never been heard of before. Much bigger than any other country in the world by literally 15, $16 trillion. It's amazing. The sailors in this ship sacrifice so much for our country and the president. And I will tell you, the president standing right up here loves you.
I respect you and I love you. And I'm giving everything I have to make sure that when you get home, you find an America that is safe and proud and sovereign and free. One service member who reminds us that we're working for you, and for everybody, and for our country is Chief Warrant Officer Will Hightower, who serves on the George Washington in the all important Deck department.
Do you know what the Deck department is? I have no idea. But they do. In April 2024, Will sailed away from Norfolk, leaving behind his wonderful wife, Megan, their precious 6-year-old daughter, and their 1-year-old son. In the past 12 months, he has only been home for three weeks total, three weeks. An enormous sacrifice, very tough on the family, but an experience everyone on the ship really knows very well.
In February, Will's tour will come to an end and he will finally be going home just in time for his daughter's birthday. So Will, I want to thank you together with all of those people that go through the same thing, I wanna really thank -- Where is Will, is Will around here? Where is Will? Wow, look at him.
But just a good looking people here. That's great, Will. How does it feel, good?
Will Hightower 00:50:54-00:50:56 (1 sec)
That's great, feels amazing, that's fantastic, that's fantastic. See, in the old days, I'd say, "Does your wife still love you?" But I don't do that anymore, you know? Does your wife still love you? Yes. Do you still love your wife?
Will Hightower: Every day.
Trump: Every day, that's good, okay, that's good. So that's good. [Laughter] Great. Beautiful. Say hello to your daughter, right, and your wife. And just in conclusion, every sailor here today inherits a legacy of valor and grit and glory unmatched in the long history of mankind's voyage on the seas. It's a voyage like nobody's ever had, like you have.
For two and a half centuries, America's Navy is preserved the vision of our first commander-in-chief who gave this ship its storied name, its righteous soul, and its timeless model. "First in war, first in peace." Very famous phrase, George Washington. After 250 years, that is exactly what our country is today.
It's first in war, first in peace, first in wealth, first in power, first in science, first in spirit, and first in freedom. And we went through four bad years, but now America will always be first again. If you have the right person up here, if you have somebody that understands a lot of different subjects, we're gonna be bigger, better, stronger, and and more important, really frankly, to the world.
Japan respects us. If you see what's going on all over the world, they're respecting us again, they respect us like never before. The treatment they gave me all over as I go around to different countries is great, but it's really a respect for me, but it's a bigger respect for our country. They respect our country again.
They didn't respect our country just a few years ago. From Boston Harbor to Hampton Roads and from Caribbean Sea to the Red Sea, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Persian Gulf to what is now known as the Gulf of America. Isn't it nice? They say it now routinely. I heard the news today, "The Gulf of America weather is wonderful." They don't say it with a smile.
It's called the Gulf of America. How did that happen, right? And it took me, you know, all, for many years, I said, why is it called the Gulf of Mexico when we seem to have the shore? Well, we do, we have 92% of the shoreline. So I said, you know, "When we make it back," not if, when. Too big to rig, we made it too big to rig, I said, "Get out and vote." Too big to rig, make it that way.
I said, "I'm gonna change it." And one of the first things I did is I changed it. Nobody could even fight it. They tried, we got sued all over the place, we won every suit, and it's now officially the Gulf of America, isn't that nice? But our sailors have written honor, greatness, and triumph into the pages of history.
What you're doing is incredible and it's an incredible time for our country. On gun decks, and flight decks, and torpedo rooms, and cockpits, the men and women of the Navy have poured out their blood and sweat and tears to defend the land of the free and the home of the brave. They've crossed icy channels, leapt from burning records, stormed into frigid waters, soared into deadly skies, and laid down their lives to ensure the survival of liberty.
Now all of us here today carry on that noble mission, and no matter what challenge comes our way, no matter what danger we face, we hoist our great American flag very, very high, we race into the waves and we rally to that mortal battle cry of the American sailor. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead, right?
Together with our incredible Japanese allies and all of our allies all over the world, we stand strong, we stand proud, we will stand taller than we've ever stood before, and we will be freer and braver and more brilliant than ever before. And we will fight, fight, fight, and we will win, win, win, and I wanna thank everybody at the USS George Washington, and the US Forces, Japan.
God bless our military, God bless Japan, God bless the United States of America and God bless our Navy. Thank you everybody, thank you.