President Trump to visit Norfolk, Va., on Friday, report says

Emma Rose Brown, The Virginian-Pilot on Sep 30, 2025

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NORFOLK, Va. — President Donald Trump plans to visit Norfolk on Friday to discuss the country’s “great Naval assets,” a White House official told The Washington Post.

Trump told top brass Tuesday at Quantico about his interest in bringing battleships back to the fleet.

“Some people would say that’s old technology. I don’t think it’s old technology,” Trump said. “Your secretary likes it and I’m open to it. Bullets are a lot less expensive than missiles ... It’s something we’re seriously considering.”

The last battleships were decommissioned in the 1990s and some are tourist attractions, including the decommissioned USS Wisconsin at Nauticus in Norfolk.

Trump’s planned visit comes as the Navy prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary in mid-October. Volunteers are organizing a weeklong celebration in Philadelphia beginning Oct. 9 with a parade of ships floating up the Delaware River.

Among the 10 vessels attending will be Norfolk’s USS Arlington, an amphibious transport dock.

The celebration also will feature tours of the docked ships, film screenings, fireworks displays and concerts. A parade of 7,000 participants will take place Oct. 13 in downtown Philadelphia.

The celebration follows the Army’s 250th anniversary parade in June, which coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday. The Washington event featured armored tanks, 6,700 uniformed service members and cost $30 million.

Trump’s most recent visit to Norfolk was in March 2020, during in his first presidential term, to send off the USNS Comfort. The Comfort, a Navy hospital ship, was departing for New York City to assist with the coronavirus response. He also visited Chesapeake in June 2024 while campaigning for his second term.

More details about Trump’s Friday visit weren’t immediately available.

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