President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wants a U.S. military buildup of more ships and planes to "project American power in distant lands," making his case for a proposed $54 billion increase in defense spending that has U.S. lawmakers squabbling.
Wearing an olive military jacket and hat aboard a new aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, in Newport News, Virginia, Trump said he wanted the U.S. military to have the finest equipment in the world.
Trump this week proposed a $54 billion increase over last year in defense spending, boosting the Pentagon budget to $603 billion, and said he wanted to launch the biggest military buildup in American history to make up for what he called a depleted armed forces.
