One day before joining nine other contenders for the Republican nomination on the debate stage, front-runner Donald Trump will hold court on a decommissioned battleship to discuss his national security strategy.
A speech by Trump will be the main attraction for "Make America's Military Great Again," a Sept. 15 event aboard the USS Iowa in Los Angeles that's sponsored by Veterans for a Strong America, a "nonpartisan action organization" that endorsed Trump in July.
The next night, the real estate developer/reality TV star will be part of the second nationally televised GOP debate of the presidential primary season, to be held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
Similar to the first debate, which aired on Fox News, candidates polling in the top 10 nationally will participate in the prime-time showdown. Trump's in no danger of losing his spot, polling at 30 percent in the most recent Monmouth University survey — more than triple the percentage of any other candidate aside from retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson (18 percent).
Trump has discussed military-themed topics in past media appearances, offering few specifics. In a July interview with conservative commentator Dana Loesch, the candidate suggested he'd address veterans' health care issues by "firing everyone at the VA" and putting forward a one-part plan to solving current and future Veterans Affairs Department problems: "You fix it by getting Trump elected president."
Trump offered a similar fix to foreign policy concerns in a Thursday interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, according to a New York Times report: After admitting unfamiliarity with leaders of various Middle East nations and factions, the candidate assured the host that he'd learn their names once he was elected, and that "I will be so good at the military, your head will spin."
The battleship that will play host to Trump's speech served during World War II and was in Tokyo Bay for Japan's 1945 surrender, then saw action as 7th Fleet's flagship during the Korean War before being decommissioned in 1958, according to an official Navy history Web page. The ship rejoined the fleet in the 1980s before its final removal from service in 1990.
VSA, which opposed the nomination of former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel
and was one of many veterans groups to call for the resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki in 2014, claims 500,000 supporters nationwide. Its Facebook page has about 57,000 "likes" and its Twitter page has fewer than 2,800 followers.
Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.
