Trump believes his should last forever
When Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili wanted to sear his name into the minds of his countrymen, he did so first by adopting a new identity. He became Joseph Stalin, meaning “man of steel.”
That wasn’t enough, of course. As Stalin consolidated his power, he needed more. So he had cities renamed in his honor: Tsaritsyn became Stalingrad, Yuzoka in Ukraine (now Donetsk) became Stalino and Novokuznetsk transformed into Stalinsk, along with many others. He even had his name inserted into the Soviet national anthem.
More recently, after the now-deceased leader of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov, took power in 1993, he became “Turkmenbashi” or the “Leader of all Turkmen.” Infamously, he then renamed the month of January “Turkmenbashi” and gave April his mother’s name, calling it Gurbansoltan. He also named airports, streets, and even vodka after himself.
Donald J. Trump (whose ancestral family name was Drumpf) is determined to not be outdone by these men, however.
It’s not enough that we have the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts and the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. Soon (maybe), we will have two new “Trump Class” battleships, with the eventual goal of acquiring 25. As The New York Times reported, Navy secretary John Phelan called the vessels “just one piece of the president’s golden fleet that we’re going to build.”
The ships, of course, will be “the largest we’ve ever built,” Trump said. They also will be able to launch hypersonic missiles and nuclear-armed cruise missiles.
Trump’s penchant – perhaps, obsession – with affixing his name to things from hotels and casinos to steaks and even a university has a long history. It has also been much commented on, as hundreds of mental health professionals have warned of his “malignant narcissism.” His own niece, clinical psychologist Mary L. Trump, warned in 2020 that “This is far beyond garden-variety narcissism … Donald is not simply weak, his ego is a fragile thing that must be bolstered every moment because he knows deep down that he is nothing of what he claims to be.”
More recently, Politico shared a revealing anecdote on the point. During a guided tour of Mount Vernon last April, Trump learned that Washington was a major real-estate speculator. So, he couldn’t understand why he didn’t name his historic Virginia compound or other property after himself. “If he was smart, he would’ve put his name on it,” Trump said, according to three sources. “You’ve got to put your name on stuff, or no one remembers you.”
Of course, the nation’s first president did wind up having the nation’s capital city named for him while he was in office. Tellingly, he didn’t do that himself, however; that was done in his honor by three commissioners he had appointed. Washington, a trained surveyor, had overseen development of the federal city, so between that and his leadership of the Revolutionary Army he very much earned the distinction.
It’s hardly clear what Trump did – if anything – to merit a vote by the Kennedy Center’s board (most of whose members he appointed) to rename that historic building. Indeed, ticket sales have plunged since he made a series of changes at the place. Already, Trump and his loyalists on the board have been sued over the name change.
As for the “Trump class” of warships, the president once again is breaking with tradition in affixing his name on it. Typically, new classes of ships have been named for the lead ship in a group – thus the four in the “Iowa class” (Iowa, New Jersey, Missouri and Wisconsin) were named after the U.S.S. Iowa – though the first one planned in the new Trump class is to be called Defiant.
Trump’s interest goes beyond the naming of a warship class, though. Apparently thinking himself suited to crafting battleships, Trump said that he plans to play a direct role in the design. As Newsweek reported, Navy Secretary John Phelan has told senators that Trump has frequently texted him late at night about ship maintenance and design, and Trump has previously said he personally intervened to alter the design of a now-canceled frigate, calling the original version “a terrible-looking ship.”
According to the renderings, Defiant will sport the usual gray color, though its construction is part of the “Golden Fleet” initiative. Trump, of course, has a deep fancy for gold, as he has gilded much of the Oval Office. Curiously, the late Turkmenistan president also adored gold — so much so that he had golden statues of himself erected around the country:
Much like the past leaders of the U.S.S.R. and Turkmenistan, Trump has moved aggressively in his first year in office to affix his name or image to many things. As Axios reported, the Interior Department in November unveiled the 2026 America the Beautiful National Park pass, which features a side-by-side image of George Washington and Trump to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary.
The administration is starting to process applications from parents with children born between 2025 and 2028 to receive $1,000 to deposit into “Trump accounts.” The administration also began accepting requests for the Trump Gold Card, which fast tracks immigration processing for applicants who pay a $15,000 fee and contribute $1 million more if approved. The card features Trump’s likeness alongside images of the Statue of Liberty and a bald eagle.
The president also has sketched out plans for TrumpRX.gov, a government-run portal that would steer patients directly to a manufacturer’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) website to purchase medications out-of-pocket (i.e., without going through their insurance) at discounted rates set by the government. It is expected to launch early next year.
While Trump’s frenzied self-aggrandizement may reflect a personal pathology, the larger question in the case of the “Trump class” of battleships is whether they are practical and needed for modern warfare.
Naval historian Steven Wills has suggested that the mission for battleships in modern warfare is “less clear.” He said such ships could conduct traditional gunfire support missions for operations ashore and serve in battleship surface action groups, freeing aircraft carriers for other efforts. While bombarding shores would be a key mission, air and missile threats to warships, such as the Houthi rebel’s missile capability in Yemen, suggest the ships would be vulnerable.
Also, the “Trump class” ships are expected to have so-called electromagnetic railguns. These can use electromagnetic force to launch heavy projectiles at ranges upwards of 200 miles. A “railgun battleship” however has its own drawbacks, Wills argued. An immense amount of power is needed and enormous heat must be dissipated in its use.
Also, the Navy has long had troubles building new ships, with delays and budget overruns common. As Politico reported, defense industry analyst Roman Schweizer of TD Cowen told investors after Trump’s remarks that “we see the plan as extremely ambitious and, in some ways, running counter to the trend in unmanned and robotic maritime systems,” that the Navy had said it was focusing on.
Moreover, the ranking member of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), called Trump’s plan “vague.” He said the “proposal to bring back battleships raises many questions for Congress to scrutinize.” Courtney added: “There is a reason that the Navy stopped building battleships in 1944 and that President Ronald Reagan’s 600 ship fleet didn’t bring them back.”
Of course, many things Trump affixed his name to have failed. Trump Steaks failed after about two months in 2007. Trump University died in 2010, after five years, and Trump paid a $25 million settlement to students who sued claiming they had been duped. And Trump’s casinos went bankrupt, ripping off creditors, even as he reaped millions from them.
One can only wonder about the likely fate of the Trump battleships and his several other attempts at making sure Americans can’t forget him.