{"id":80895,"date":"2019-05-28T11:20:52","date_gmt":"2019-05-28T18:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=80895"},"modified":"2019-05-28T11:20:52","modified_gmt":"2019-05-28T18:20:52","slug":"president-trump-and-the-first-lady-in-memorial-day-address-to-troops-aboard-the-uss-wasp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=80895","title":{"rendered":"President Trump and the First Lady in Memorial Day Address to Troops Aboard the USS Wasp"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Yokosuka, Japan&#8230;.THE FIRST LADY:  Hello, everyone.  AUDIENCE:  Hello!  THE FIRST LADY:  It is wonderful to be with you today.  This has been a very enjoyable and productive visit with the Japanese people.  And we are thankful for the incredible hospitality that we have received.  Back in November, I visited the USS George H.W. Bush, one of our nation\u2019s great aircraft carriers at work in the Atlantic Ocean.  It is a privilege to once again join with you, our incredible sailors and Marines, on the USS Wasp at work, here in the Pacific Ocean.  Thank you for your service and sacrifice and all that you do on behalf of our country.  May God bless you and your families.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/l_vMXZVS4Pw\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d now like to introduce my husband, your Commander-in-Chief, the 45th President of the United States of America.  Mr. President?  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP:  What a group.  What a group.  This is a tough bunch of people, right?  (Applause.)  And that\u2019s good.  That\u2019s very good.<\/p>\n<p>And I want to thank you, Melania.  You\u2019ve been really the talk of Japan.  They\u2019re not covering me.  I\u2019m a little bit upset with her right now.  (Laughter.)  No, they love you in Japan, honey, and we appreciate it very much.  She really works very hard.  They love our First Lady, and they love our First Lady back home.<\/p>\n<p>I want to just tell everyone before we even begin: At ease!  At ease.  Just relax.  We have plenty of time.  Plenty of time.  We\u2019re going to have a little fun.  And I\u2019m thrilled to be aboard the USS Wasp with the brave sailors and Marines, the Seventh Fleet.  Special, special people.  Thank you very much.  Great job.  Thank you.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And I have to wish you all a very Happy Memorial Day, right?  Memorial Day \u2014 very special back home.  And I always like to be back in the U.S., as you do, for that day.  But we did a lot of great things for the last three days in Japan.  So we\u2019re working together.  You\u2019re working.  I\u2019m working.  We\u2019re all working together.<\/p>\n<p>As President, I have no higher honor than serving as your Commander-in-Chief \u2014 and the extraordinary men and women of the American Armed Forces.<\/p>\n<p>This has been a truly amazing and unforgettable visit to Japan.  Melania and I are profoundly grateful to Their Majesties the new Emperor and Empress.  I had the great honor of being their first state guests.  That was a big honor for our country.  We\u2019re also deeply thankful to our cherished friends and treasured partners, Prime Minister and Mrs. Abe.  Very, very great people.  Our thanks as well to Ambassador Hagerty and his wife Chrissy.  Thank you very much.  Thank you, Ambassador.  Thank you, Chrissy.  Thank you very much.  Great job you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n<p>Today, we\u2019re proud to be joined by the many outstanding military leaders.  We have a lot.  These are very incredible ones.  I especially want to thank the Commanding Officer of USS Wasp, Captain Christopher Herr.  (Applause.)  They like you, Christopher.  They like you a lot.  That\u2019s very good, Christopher.  (Laughter.)  And the Command Master Chief, Kevin Guy.  (Applause.)  Popular people.  That\u2019s great.  Wow.  Great leaders.<\/p>\n<p>My thanks as well to Lieutenant General Kevin Schneider, Commander of the U.S. Forces Japan.  Thank you, Kevin.  (Applause.)  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Vice Admiral Phil Sawyer, Commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet.  (Applause.)  And, you know, they\u2019re all such good-looking people.  You have all this media over here.  They\u2019re going to end up in Hollywood.  They\u2019re going to leave us.  Some of them will be picked for Hollywood, right?  And they won\u2019t do it.  They like this better \u2014 and I agree.<\/p>\n<p>Rear Admiral Gregory Fenton, Commander of the United States Naval Force Japan.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, Gregory.  Thank you.  Great.<\/p>\n<p>Rear Admiral James Pitts, Commander of the Submarine Group 7.  (Applause.)  And you know we\u2019re doing a lot of big submarines right now.  We\u2019re building a lot of them.  I\u2019ll tell you, the best in the world.  Not even a contest.  Right?  It\u2019s really something.  I just saw plans for one.  But they\u2019re no longer the little submarines that we think about.  These are incredible machines, right?  Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>Brigadier General Todd Dozier, Deputy Commander of the 5th Air Force.  Todd.  Thank you, Todd.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Rear Admiral Fred Kacher, Commander of Task Force 76.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)  Thank you very much.  Great.  Great leaders.<\/p>\n<p>Captain Jim McGovern, Commander of the Amphibious Squadron 11.  And Captain Jeffrey Kim, Commander of Fleet Activities, right here.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Great.<br \/>\nTogether, these officers are leading the most fearsome group of American warriors this side of the Pacific.  We have more than 1,000 sailors and Marines from the Seventh Fleet here today, including hundreds who serve on this impressive assault ship, USS Wasp.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Also joining us are sailors from the following ships: USS Shiloh.  (Applause.)  USS Chancellorsville.  (Applause.)  USS Mustin.  (Applause.)  USS Barry.  (Applause.)  You love those ships, don\u2019t you?  Huh?  (Laughter.)  USS McCampbell.  (Applause.) USS Benford [Benfold].  (Applause.)  Thank you, fellas.  That\u2019s great.  Great pride.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, I want to recognize our many shore-based commands here today, including large contingents from Navy Region Japan.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)  We like them.  We like them.  The Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team.  (Applause.) The Naval Intelligence Operations Center.  (Applause.)  Fleet Logistics Center Yokosuka.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>The Ship Repair Facility.  I\u2019ll bet you guys do a good job.  Do they do a good jobs with the ships, right?  (Laughter.)  Repairing them.  Huh?  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>So then, let me ask you a question.  Catapult \u2014 right?  The catapult system.  Do you like electric or steam?<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  Steam!<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  Electric!<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Steam.  Who said \u201celectric\u201d?  There\u2019s one guy back there.   (Laughter.)  Okay, I really need this information because, you know, we\u2019re building carriers.  We\u2019re building one.  They\u2019re using an electric catapult and an electric elevator.  Number one, I can\u2019t imagine, in the case of battle \u2014 it must be very delicate, okay?  And, you know, steam has only worked for about 65 years, perfectly.<\/p>\n<p>And I won\u2019t tell you this because it\u2019s before my time by a little bit, but they have a $900 million cost overrun on this crazy electric catapult.  I said, \u201cWhat was wrong with steam?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I would like to know \u2014 all of the folks that know exactly what I\u2019m talking about, the catapult system \u2014 steam or electric?<\/p>\n<p>Ready?  Steam.  (Applause.)  Electric.<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  Yeah!  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP:  He works for the enemy.  (Laughter.)  He\u2019s all right.  We\u2019ll \u2014 ooh, you might be in danger.  I better be careful.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>No, we want to go with steam.  You know, they\u2019re always coming up with new ideas.  They\u2019re making planes so complex you can\u2019t fly them.  (Laughter.)  You know that.  No, it\u2019s \u2014 I really mean it.  They want to show next, next, next.  And we all want innovation, but it\u2019s too much.<\/p>\n<p>But there\u2019s never been anything like the steam catapults.  And I went to the Gerald Ford, which is under construction now for a long time.  They\u2019re having a problem with their electric catapult.  And I was talking to the catapult people, and they said \u201csteam.\u201d  In the meantime, we\u2019re spending all that money on electric, and nobody knows what it\u2019s going to be like in bad conditions.  You understand.<\/p>\n<p>So I think I\u2019m going to put an order.  When we build a new aircraft carrier, we\u2019re going to use steam.  I\u2019m going to just put out an order: We\u2019re going to use steam.  We don\u2019t need \u2014 we don\u2019t need that extra speed.  You know, they were saying \u2014 one of the folks said, \u201cNo, the electric works faster.  But, sir, we can only get the plane there every couple of minutes.\u201d  So, really, what they did was wrong.<\/p>\n<p>And we make mistakes, but, generally speaking, we get it right.  But when we make them, we have to correct it.  So we\u2019re going to put out an order: We want to use steam.<\/p>\n<p>The military doctors and nurses from the U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka, and many more.  (Applause.)  So many people.  So many great, great people.<\/p>\n<p>Every Marine and sailor standing on USS Wasp is the face of American strength and power in the Pacific.<\/p>\n<p>The Seventh Fleet is America\u2019s largest forward-deployed naval fleet.  Together, you are 70 ships and submarines strong, with 140 aircraft, and 40,000 of America\u2019s finest sailors and Marines.  Did you know that about yourselves?  Not bad.  It\u2019s very impressive.<\/p>\n<p>With us today is Marine Staff Sergeant Daniel Patterson. Where\u2019s Daniel?  Where\u2019s Daniel?  Get over here, Daniel.  (Applause.)  Tough-looking guy.<\/p>\n<p>Every single generation of Staff Sergeant Patterson\u2019s family has served in the United States military, all the way back to the Revolutionary War.  But Staff Sergeant Patterson was the first to choose the Marines.<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE:  Oo-rah!<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Right?  (Laughs.)  After completing two tours of duty in Afghanistan, Staff Sergeant Patterson requested another overseas tour \u2014 this time wanted to go to Japan.  He knows that America needs \u2014 and what they need is daring and mighty warriors in the Pacific, and he\u2019s a daring and mighty warrior.<\/p>\n<p>Staff Sergeant Patterson, today, you and your fellow Marines and sailors of the Seventh Fleet are confronting this region\u2019s pressing security challenges with unmatched courage and valor.  You know what\u2019s going on.  You know where we\u2019re talking.  You know what we\u2019re talking about.  We really appreciate your being here.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel, I\u2019m going to do something that you didn\u2019t expect.  Say a few words, Daniel.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>STAFF SERGEANT PATTERSON:  Well, it\u2019s such an honor and a privilege to be here with you, Mr. President.  And I definitely didn\u2019t expect this.  And it\u2019s an honor and privilege to serve with my fellow sailors and Marines and drive our mission forward that General Smith and the Commodore and Colonel Brodie has kind of laid out for us.  And we know why we\u2019re here and we know what we \u2014 who we need to egress.  Because if we don\u2019t, we let ourselves just sleep on it for even a second, then we won\u2019t be the ultimate power in the world.<\/p>\n<p>So thank you very much and thank all of you.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Good job, Daniel.  He\u2019ll be running for political office within two weeks.  Look.  (Laughter.)  Daniel, great.  Thank you very much.  Great job.<\/p>\n<p>Every day, the men and women of the Seventh Fleet live out their motto: \u201cReady Power for Peace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You face down terrorism and render aid in the wake of devastating natural disasters.  And I\u2019ve seen what you do.  Incredible.<\/p>\n<p>You proudly patrol the Yellow Sea, the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea.  You defend your homeland and our allies against missile attack with our most advanced radar and weapons systems in the world.  We have equipment, missiles, rockets, tanks, planes, ships.  Nobody in the entire world can build them like we do.  Nobody.  It\u2019s not even close.  You know that better than anybody.<\/p>\n<p>Here in the Pacific and around the globe, we want our armed forces to have the tools, resources, and equipment you need and that you deserve.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why we have given our Seventh Fleet new, American-made, F-35B Marine fighter aircraft.  Very stealthy.  You know that, right?  The enemy has a problem with it.  You know what the problem is?  They can\u2019t see it.  (Laughter.)  Other than that, it\u2019s a fair fight.  (Laughter.)  Just like my one, and this one right here.  That just came out.  Beautiful.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, USS Wasp made history when it became the very first ship to deploy these cutting-edge aircraft.  I want to congratulate you all.  And you\u2019re getting a lot of brand new ones.  We\u2019re getting brand new equipment.<\/p>\n<p>You know, when I came two and a half years ago, we had planes that were so old they didn\u2019t make parts for them anymore.  You don\u2019t have that anymore.  You don\u2019t have that.  We\u2019re getting all new beautiful equipment.  We need it.  We need it.  Peace through strength, right?<\/p>\n<p>In April, USS Wasp also became the first ship to deploy F-35Bs in the Balikatan Naval exercise with the Philippines and with Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Later this year, the USS Wasp returns home.  We will be sending the men and women of the Seventh Fleet our most formidable amphibious assault ship: USS America.<\/p>\n<p>USS America will soon be sailing these Pacific waters, and I am pleased to say that she will also be carrying the most beautiful F-35Bs on her deck.  Brand new.  Brand new.<\/p>\n<p>My administration is committed to ensuring that America\u2019s military strength forever remains second to none.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past two years, we have made historic investments in our military with $700 billion.  Right, General?  That\u2019s billions, right?  No more millions.  Not when it comes to our military.  It\u2019s a little bit scary.  With a \u201cB.\u201d  Scary.  You know, it used to be millions; now it\u2019s billions.  And that\u2019s the way it has to be, because we have to protect our country and we have to protect our allies.<\/p>\n<p>And last year, $716 billion.  So, this year, we\u2019re going up.  And in a very short period of time, our military will be completely rebuilt and stronger, bigger, better than ever before.  Won\u2019t even be close.  And we\u2019re very close.  And when I took over, we were very depleted.  And you people knew that better than anybody.  We were depleted.  It\u2019s the only word I can use to describe it.  It was not a good situation.  But we\u2019re going to be very close.  Right now, we\u2019re very close.  Very shortly, we\u2019re going to be at a level the likes of which we\u2019ve never been before.<\/p>\n<p>This includes money for five new guided-missile destroyers, four new nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines.  That\u2019s the one you want?  Okay.  We got them.  We\u2019ve got four of them.  You only wanted one; we got you four.  And 163 brand new F-35 Joint Strike fighter jets.<\/p>\n<p>As Prime Minister Abe and I discussed yesterday, Japan also plans to equip the Japanese Self-Defense Forces with 105 F-35 aircraft, which would make Japan\u2019s F-35 fleet the largest of any U.S. ally.  The U.S.-Japan alliance has never been stronger.  The relationship between your President and the Prime Minister of Japan \u2014 he\u2019s a great gentleman; great man \u2014 is a fantastic one.<\/p>\n<p>This remarkable port is the only one in the world where we\u2019re \u2014 American naval fleet and an allied naval fleet, headquartered side-by-side \u2014 a testament to the ironclad partnership between U.S. and Japanese forces.<\/p>\n<p>Together, you are advancing freedom on the high seas, shielding our nation from dangerous weapons, and preserving the peace that generations of valiant American warriors gave their lives to secure.<\/p>\n<p>One of those intrepid Americans was Private First Class John Schaeffer.  Born and raised in Tower City, Pennsylvania, Private Schaeffer was a member of a group of U.S. Army Special Forces who fought in the Pacific during World War II under the legendary command of General Frank Merrill.  Good General?  Good General?  Pretty good, right?  That\u2019s what they say.  Are you better?  Huh?  (Laughs.)  Just be as good.<\/p>\n<p>Although Private Schaeffer sadly perished in the Battle of Burma, his deep love of country endures in someone very special with us today, his grandnephew, Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel Schaeffer.  Where\u2019s Daniel?  Should I get him up?  (Applause.)  And I want to thank you very much for the incredible job you\u2019ve done.  We picked a couple of people that are outstanding.  Please say a couple of words.<\/p>\n<p>SENIOR CHIEF PETTY OFFICER SCHAEFFER:  Sure.<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Please.<\/p>\n<p>SENIOR CHIEF PETTY OFFICER SCHAEFFER:  Thank you, Mr. President.  This is amazing to have recognized my family.  But I know a lot of others have families that served as well.<\/p>\n<p>Memorial Day is that time where we honor our fellow Americans who pay the ultimate sacrifice.  So, you know, thank you for all my shipmates and fellow Marines that are out here today, it\u2019s a great day.  Thank you, Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Two great jobs.  And that\u2019s not easy.  They don\u2019t know they\u2019re coming up.  You didn\u2019t know, did you, huh?  You had no idea.  And you both did it.  They didn\u2019t choke.  We don\u2019t like chokers, do we?  We don\u2019t like chokers.  We don\u2019t like chokers.<\/p>\n<p>On this Memorial Day evening in the United States, Americans are concluding a sacred day of remembrance, reflection, and prayer.  Citizens all across the country came together to decorate the graves of our fallen heroes and to honor their selfless acts of courage.<\/p>\n<p>The citizens of our country are incredible.  They love our country, and they love you.  They love you.  You have no idea how much they love you.<\/p>\n<p>Down through history, from America\u2019s earliest days, fearless Americans have said goodbye to their loved ones, gone off to war, and stared down our enemies, knowing that they may never, ever return.  Memorial Day links every grateful American heart in eternal tribute to those brave souls who gave their last breath for our nation, from Concord to Gettysburg, from Midway to Mosul.<\/p>\n<p>Today, the unbreakable resolve of these heroes lives on in every American who wears our great uniform.  Each day that you serve on these rolling but beautiful seas, you honor their sacrifice, you carry on their righteous duty, and you continue their noble legacy.<\/p>\n<p>Our republic endures because of brave men and women who are willing to lay down their lives to defend us all.  Our freedom is earned through the blood, and sweat, and toil, and sacrifice of great American patriots just like you.<\/p>\n<p>As we honor America\u2019s fallen warriors, we pledge our unwavering devotion to all of those who serve our nation in uniform.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout this region \u2014 from Yokosuka, to Guam, to Singapore, to Okinawa, to Busan \u2014 the Seventh Fleet is holding the line and defending the peace.<\/p>\n<p>Among the sailors and Marines the USS WASP, you serve as warfare officers, naval aviators, Marine riflemen, air-crewmen, corpsmen, machinist mates, avionics tech \u2014<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE:  Ooh!<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Go ahead.  You can do it.  (Laughter.)  Ordnance technicians.  (Applause.)  Okay.  (Laughter.)  Where are the avionics guys?  (Applause.)  And gals.  Huh?  Right there?  Good.  That\u2019s complicated business, right?  Got to be pretty good.  Cooks, fire control men and women, intelligence specialists.<\/p>\n<p>You are the strongest, toughest, best, and bravest.  Do you agree with that?<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE:  Yeah!<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP:  You better.  You are the ones keep going and striving, and keeping America safe, and strong, and proud, and free.<\/p>\n<p>You defend our freedom, our families, and you defend our great American flag.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>You show the world the force of American might and American heart.  And you prove, across these perilous waters and far beyond, that there is no match on Earth for the awesome power and glory of the American Navy and the United States Marines.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>To the men and women of America\u2019s Seventh Fleet: The First Lady and I have been deeply honored to be with you all today.  On behalf of all Americans, we thank you, we salute you, we honor you, we cherish you, and we stand with you now and forever.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you to the proud sailors and Marines of USS Wasp.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>God bless you.  God bless our military.  And God bless the United States of America.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yokosuka, Japan&#8230;.THE FIRST LADY: Hello, everyone. AUDIENCE: Hello! THE FIRST LADY: It is wonderful to be with you today. This has been a very enjoyable and productive visit with the Japanese people. And we are thankful for the incredible hospitality that we have received. Back in November, I visited the USS George H.W. Bush, one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":80897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Fullscreen-capture-5282019-111934-AM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80895\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/80897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}