President Donald Trump’s impulse is to believe that bigger is always better. Still, U.S. military procurement must be laser-focused on the extraordinary challenge of deterring and, if necessary, defeating China in a major war.

The Trump-class battleship fundamentally undermines that focus. It would be very poorly suited for a war with China or a revitalized Russian navy. It would be a tremendous drain on strained resources and shipyards. And if war with China ever came, it would end up as a bloody testament to the folly of putting ego before military necessity.

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