'Slap in the face': Trump sparks outrage over reports of US navy carrier could be renamed after him, not Black war hero

US President Donald Trump faced backlash after reports suggested that a Navy aircraft carrier could be named after him instead of a Black war hero, delivering a “slap in the face” to US military veterans. Previously, the US Navy announced that the under-construction carrier would be named the USS Doris Miller, in tribute to a sailor martyred during the attack on Pearl Harbour in the Second World War.

However, several media reports indicated that the Navy is now working to rename the carrier in the name of President Trump. “This is a slap in the face to every war hero and every service member who has worn the uniform,” said Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP civil rights group. “Doris Miller earned his place in American history through courage, sacrifice, and service,” added Johnson. “Donald Trump only wants to serve himself.”

When asked to respond, the White House pointed the Guardian to the Department of Defence, which had no comment. Miller, who served as a Navy cook, is said to have downed four to six Japanese bombers during the attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941, even though he had no formal training on the weapon he used. He died two years later, in 1943, when a Japanese torpedo sank the USS Liscome Bay, killing two-thirds of its crew. In the 2001 film Pearl Harbour, he was played by Cuba Gooding Jr.

Doris Miller awarded the Navy Cross medal

He was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions at Pearl Harbour. The citation reads: “While at the side of his Captain on the bridge of the battleship U.S.S. WEST VIRGINIA, Mess Attendant First Class Doris Miller, despite enemy strafing and bombing and in the face of a serious fire, assisted in moving his Captain, who had been mortally wounded, to a place of greater safety, and later manned and operated a machine gun directed at enemy Japanese attacking aircraft until ordered to leave the bridge.”

For years, his family has pushed to have his award upgraded to the Medal of Honour. No US Navy carrier has ever borne the name of a sitting president, and news of the plan to name this one after Trump drew sharp criticism when it broke on Friday.

“It’s beyond comprehension for a president to want his own name on a Navy ship while our armed forces are living in deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln,” Johnson, of the NAACP, said. “For generations, millions of Black women and men have proudly served in the United States military, defending freedoms that too often were not even afforded to them, their families, or their communities. Donald Trump is making a mockery of that legacy by treating military service as another opportunity for personal branding. Our brave service members signed up to defend the nation, not the fragile ego of one man. America deserves better than this," Johnson added.

A Democratic US senator from Arizona and a retired Navy officer, Mark Kelly, said in a post on social media platform X: “Dorie Miller’s bravery at Pearl Harbour is legendary and resulted in him being awarded the Navy Cross. This aircraft carrier shouldn’t be renamed at all, let alone for Donald Trump, who has denigrated servicemembers like Dorie Miller who have paid the ultimate price.”