Trump Brushes Off Concerns About Sailors Living in Squalid Conditions
President Donald Trump denied reports Friday of horrific conditions onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln—and suggested that the U.S. servicemembers should stay at sea for even longer.
Trump offered a shockingly callous response while taking a question about the aircraft carrier that’s been deployed since November.
“Family members of U.S. servicemembers are concerned about conditions onboard the USS Lincoln—” one reporter said.
“Well no—that ship is moving—no, they’re not,” Trump interjected. “That ship is moving right now, or very shortly, and it’s being replaced with another very similar ship.”
Asked whether he believed that the servicemembers had been deployed for “too long,” Trump had a similarly heartless reply.
“No, no, no. Not nearly long enough,” Trump said.
Reporter: Family members of service members are concerned about conditions on the LIncoln.
Trump: No they’re not.
Reporter: Has the deployment gone on too long?
Trump: No. Not nearly long enough. pic.twitter.com/7TM1LPeOru
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 14, 2026
Family of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have detailed the carrier’s multiple issues, including plumbing disasters, disruptions with the delivery of mail, and shortages of food, water, and other supplies. These issues have placed an immense strain on the mental health and wellbeing of sailors on board the ship. It’s gotten so bad that multiple sailors have tried to jump overboard.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the USS George Washington aircraft carrier will soon be deployed to the Persian Gulf from Japan to replace the Abraham Lincoln, part of a previously scheduled rotation plan. But the Lincoln has already been deployed for 250 days and gone a record 200 days without a port call.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth previously claimed that reports about the state of affairs aboard the Lincoln had “misrepresented” the situation.
Clearly, the president couldn’t care less about U.S. servicemembers or their families.
