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Conflict & Security224 outlets ran this5 min read

US Navy considers renaming USS Doris Miller aircraft carrier after Donald Trump

The Ford-class carrier was designated to honour a Black Pearl Harbor hero, but internal discussions suggest a change

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

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US Navy considers renaming USS Doris Miller aircraft carrier after Donald Trump

What this story says

  • The US Navy is considering renaming a Ford-class aircraft carrier originally designated USS Doris Miller, a Black sailor honoured for actions at Pearl Harbor.
  • Internal discussions reportedly include naming the carrier after Donald Trump, which would be the first time a US aircraft carrier honours a sitting president.
  • The Navy may instead name another ship after Doris Miller and is recommending him for a posthumous Medal of Honor.
  • The carrier’s keel-laying ceremony is expected by the end of 2026, with delivery not due until 2034.

Who covered it

Left 25%(47)Centre 70%(132)Right 5%(10)

Percentages are shares of the 189 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 35 of the 224 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

78/100

Craft

75/100

Hype

35/100

224 sources · methodology

Missing from the right

Only 10 of the 189 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

A reader who follows the right would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.

The US Navy is reviewing the name of a Ford-class aircraft carrier under construction, which was designated USS Doris Miller in 2020. The decision to honour Miller, a Black sailor who defended Pearl Harbor in 1941, was announced during Donald Trump’s first term as president. Three sources familiar with internal discussions told CNN the Navy is now working on a plan to change the carrier’s name.

Two of the sources said the possibility of naming the vessel after Trump has been raised within the Pentagon. No US aircraft carrier has ever been named after a sitting president. The Navy is also considering renaming another ship after Miller and is recommending him for a posthumous Medal of Honor, which would require congressional approval. Miller’s family told CNN they had not been informed of the potential name change or the Medal of Honor recommendation.

Doris Miller, a mess attendant third class, helped carry wounded crew members to safety during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor before manning an anti-aircraft gun despite no formal training. He was killed in action in 1943. The carrier named in his honour is one of three Ford-class vessels under development, with the USS Gerald R. Ford already operational. The Navy has not commented on the reported discussions.

What the reports disagree on

The timeline of the renaming discussions is unclear. CNN reported the effort has been underway since earlier this year. The Independent did not specify when the discussions began. The Navy’s internal reference to the ship also differs: CNN said the Navy has effectively stopped calling it USS Doris Miller and now refers to it only by its hull number, CVN-81. The Independent did not mention this change.

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated digests mentioned the Navy’s reported plan to rename another ship after Doris Miller. The centre-rated digests also omitted this detail, except for KIFI’s full report. The left-rated digests carried the information, but only The Independent’s full report included the Navy’s recommendation for a posthumous Medal of Honor. None of the digests mentioned the Navy’s internal shift to referring to the carrier only by its hull number, CVN-81, which was reported by CNN and KIFI.

Tags:#USNavy#DorisMiller#DonaldTrump#AircraftCarrier#PearlHarbor#MilitaryNaming

Coverage settled. We checked this 10 times and stopped on 26 Aug 2026, 13:00. The figures above are what it finished at.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

47 rated outlets

  • The left-rated outlets reported that the US Navy is considering renaming an aircraft carrier that was to honor Doris Miller, a Black sailor recognized for his actions at Pearl Harbor. The vessel, currently under construction, was designated the USS Doris Miller during Donald Trump’s first term.
  • Multiple reports indicated that the possibility of naming the carrier after Trump has been raised within the Pentagon. This would be unprecedented, as no US aircraft carrier has been named after a sitting president. Miller's great-nephew stated his family had not been informed of the potential change.
  • Some left-rated reports also mentioned that the Navy is said to be backing an attempt to posthumously award Miller the Medal of Honor, which would require congressional authorization. The Independent's full report noted that the Navy is also considering changing electromagnetic catapult systems on carriers to older steam-powered ones at Trump's direction.

Centre

132 rated outlets

  • The centre-rated digests led on the Navy’s internal discussions about renaming the carrier, with most repeating CNN’s phrasing that the vessel was "slated to honor a Black war hero". Live Mint and Hindustan Times framed the story as a choice between Miller and Trump, with Hindustan Times asking, "Is Trump behind US Navy’s effort to rename aircraft carrier?"
  • KIFI’s full report included the Navy’s consideration of updated naming guidelines, including the possibility of naming ships after presidents. It also noted the Navy’s internal shift to referring to the carrier only by its hull number, CVN-81. The report quoted former Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly’s 2020 remarks about Miller’s heroism and the significance of his uniform.

Right

10 rated outlets

  • The two right-rated digests, from Yonhap News Agency and KTEN, led on the Navy’s consideration of changing the carrier’s name from Miller to Trump. Yonhap News Agency framed the story as a question: "Will the Name of the Latest U.S. Aircraft Carrier Be Changed From a Black War Hero to Trump?" Neither digest included details about the Navy’s potential alternative ship for Miller or the Medal of Honor recommendation.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover US Navy considers renaming USS Doris Miller aircraft carrier after…?
Of the 189 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 25% are rated left, 70% are rated centre, 5% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 224. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is US Navy considers renaming USS Doris Miller aircraft carrier after… left or right?
The story itself is neither. What can be counted is who has covered it, and 70% of the 189 rated outlets on it are rated centre — so far this is a story carried mostly by the centre. Coverage of this one has settled, so that is unlikely to move much now.
Is the coverage of US Navy considers renaming USS Doris Miller aircraft carrier after… biased?
US Navy considers renaming USS Doris Miller aircraft carrier after Donald Trump is one event reported by 224 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting US Navy considers renaming USS Doris Miller aircraft carrier after…?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered US Navy considers renaming USS Doris Miller aircraft carrier after…?
224 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
Why was the USS Doris Miller originally named after Doris Miller?
Doris Miller was a Black sailor who helped defend Pearl Harbor in 1941. He carried wounded crew members to safety and manned an anti-aircraft gun despite no formal training. The Navy announced the carrier’s name in 2020 to honour his heroism, as reported by The Independent and CNN.
Has a US aircraft carrier ever been named after a sitting president before?
No. The reports agree that naming an aircraft carrier after a sitting president would be unprecedented. The Independent and CNN both noted this fact in their coverage of the potential renaming.
What happens next in the renaming process?
The Navy must finalise the carrier’s name before its keel-laying ceremony, expected by the end of 2026. The ship is not due for delivery until 2034, as reported by KIFI. Congressional approval would be required if the Navy recommends a posthumous Medal of Honor for Miller.
What are the Navy’s reported alternatives for honouring Doris Miller?
The Navy is considering renaming another ship after Doris Miller and recommending him for a posthumous Medal of Honor, according to CNN and The Independent. Neither detail was mentioned in the right-rated digests.

Read it at the source

224 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

47
Show 39 more

Centre

132
Show 124 more

Right

10
Show 2 more

Not rated

35
Show 27 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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Navy reviews renaming USS Doris Miller aircraft carrier | MediaBias News