Marlon Humphrey had his phone out in the back of the presidential motorcade.
On Tuesday, the four-time Pro Bowl cornerback for the Baltimore Ravens filmed President Trump talking football with Nick Moore, the team's long snapper, about a past Super Bowl as the motorcade rolled toward Sparrows Point. Humphrey posted the clip, and it passed a million views within hours.
Where the motorcade was headed made a bigger story.
Sparrows Point was once the home of Bethlehem Steel, a mill and shipyard on the edge of Baltimore that, in the words of Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf, "helped build the fleet that won World War II." The steel mill shut down years ago, and the ships stopped long before that.
Trump was there to announce that the work is coming back.
Anduril Industries, the defense technology company founded by Palmer Luckey, is building a shipyard called Arsenal-2 on 187 acres at Tradepoint Atlantic. It will cover more than 2 million square feet and include a 1,200-foot graving dock. It will build components and large-scale assemblies for Virginia-class nuclear attack submarines, starting with torpedo tubes, the part the Navy says is currently holding up the entire production line.
The whole project is worth $6.6 billion. Anduril is putting in $3.7 billion of its own money, and the Navy has awarded a contract worth up to $2.9 billion.
Then Trump announced the part nobody saw coming. "The ultimate proof of our commitment to ensuring the shipyard's enduring success: American taxpayers will receive a 40 percent stake in the new shipyard."
That means the public will own 40% of a new submarine shipyard, which is not how defense contracting usually works.
"A tremendous victory for our country, and for the city of Baltimore," Trump said, a facility "that will be known forever as Arsenal 2."
The numbers back him up. The shipyard is expected to create 3,100 permanent jobs and support about 14,000 in total, with roughly 11,000 more spread across the country. It should add $2 billion a year to Maryland's economy and about 9 million labor hours of production capacity annually. That works out to a 15% increase in Virginia-class submarine output.
America needs that increase badly. The Navy wants two Virginia-class subs a year, and the country has been building about 1.3. Anduril says it will hire from Baltimore-area high schools and vocational programs, and from the aerospace and auto industries. Permitting and site work start immediately, and the first operations are expected in 2030.
Maryland and Baltimore County will match up to 13% of Anduril's investment, pending approval from the General Assembly and the County Council. Democratic Gov. Wes Moore celebrated the project on social media but was absent from Tuesday's event, and reports say he was barred from it.
Humphrey, meanwhile, was in the audience with three teammates: kicker Tyler Loop, punter Ryan Eckley and Moore.
Trump called them out. "Could you stand up? You guys are where are you? Big stars. Where are you guys? There they are. Good looking guys."
He had a special word for the long snapper. "I said, tell me, are you a coach? They said, 'No, he's a snapper,'" Trump recalled. "Those long snappers are very valuable."
He praised the 3-1 Ravens, who lead the AFC North: "What a team you have this year. What a great team." He also had a message for the injured star who couldn't make it. "Say hello to your quarterback. He's a little bit injured," Trump said of Lamar Jackson. "I know his mother. I met his mother a few times in Palm Beach. And she's a fantastic, beautiful woman."
"I'll just say it's cool to meet a president," Loop said afterward.
Humphrey made his feelings clear a long time ago. He has posted about Trump more than 20 times since 2020. After Butler, he wrote, "Trump took a bullet for America." In May he wrote: "The fake Trump hate funny to me. Majority voted for him but everybody seem to hate him lol…Somebody lying 🤥."
Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz called Humphrey "a great talent, player, and leader for the Ravens. He is also widely respected in the locker room and the city of Baltimore."
In September 2017, Ravens players took a knee during the national anthem at Wembley Stadium in London. Humphrey was a rookie on that team.
Nine years later, four Ravens rode in the president's motorcade to the old Bethlehem Steel yard, where the country is going back to building submarines. American taxpayers will own 40% of it.
