President Donald Trump is continuing with his narrative dismissing sailors’ struggles aboard the ailing USS Abraham Lincoln, and critics say he’s gaslighting Americans about true conditions aboard the aircraft carrier.
The Lincoln has been on a record-long deployment after some nine months at sea, the past seven in the Persian Gulf amid Trump’s ongoing and unapproved war on Iran.
The latest development comes after a report from CNN about how supply chain disruptions after Trump launched his deadly war on Tehran on Feb. 28 led to fresh food shortages aboard the vessel for months.
Trump Once Again Dismisses Concerns
CNN’s Pamela Brown, who spent three days aboard the Lincoln last month, reported sailors told her “their meals were reduced to tuna mixed with noodles, or corn dogs.” Brown said some personnel “described losing significant weight,” something military family members have also told news outlets over the past weeks.
During an Oval Office press gaggle Monday, Trump again dismissed concerns about the state of the Lincoln, including mold, mental health issues among the crew, and, yes, food.
“Is there enough food on the USS Lincoln?” a reporter asked him.
Trump denied there were any problems on the ship and instead lashed out at CNN.
“Yeah, there is … that was a CNN fake report,” Trump claimed.
“The Lincoln has been out there for a period of time, a good period of time, but over the years we’ve had them out there much longer,” he insisted, as critics bluntly say he’s lying.
Most Navy deployments last about six months. The Lincoln left San Diego last November and wasn’t even able to make port calls for months after Trump started a war with the Islamic Republic. So the crew has been virtually captive on the ship, with most spending all their time below decks.
Trump Tells Story of Admiral
But then he said something even more bizarre.
“I had a group meeting, and an admiral came up to me over the weekend, and it was a big group, and he happened to be an admiral retired,” the president spouted, before making another head-scratching statement.
“He said, ‘I’ve been on ships that are out there much longer than that, sir, and I know people on the Lincoln. They say it’s beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of,’ and other people went out, and they found that to be true.’ It was fake news reporting from CNN,” an angry Trump spat out.
It’s unclear what Trump is talking about or who this mysterious “admiral retired” is. In terms of a “beautifully maintained” carrier? Not after nine months at sea. Through no fault of the crew, any ship deployed that long will show signs of wear and tear, experts say. That’s true just as reports describe aboard the Lincoln, including moldy and dripping pipes, unusable bathrooms, and unsanitary conditions.
And to make matters worse, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “hid” that Iran destroyed much of the main resupply base for the U.S. military in the Middle East, MS Now reports.
Social Media Reacts
Social media called Trump out on what his opponents describe as his duplicitous assertions.
“A complete failure. He has started a pointless war. Lost American lives, raised gas prices, are the only things that have happened. Everything else is Trump’s imagination,” an X user stated.
Another maintained there’s nothing unusual about the Lincoln’s deployment.
“This isn’t true. A ‘typical’ deployment for an aircraft carrier has ALWAYS been between 9 – 12 months.”
Commenter Ray is angry at Trump. “Tell us more about how you don’t know a d-mn thing about deployments and just making up stuff to nudge TDS. You traitors are the absolute worst.”
A Threads poster joined in. “Who is this ‘They’ that he always refers to when he’s lying?”
This isn’t the first time Trump has denied worsening conditions aboard the Lincoln. Last weekend, he told a reporter he wasn’t worried at all about the frightening reports sailors aboard the vessel had shared.
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He astonishingly added that the vessel hasn’t been out there so long, “Not nearly long enough.”
Military Families React
That comment sparked a furious response from military families.
Military Times correspondent Natalie Oliveria told “CNN News Central” that a military spouse told her “it is infuriating to hear the commander in chief speak about our service members.”
“This way the ships are not intended to seamlessly run that long without extreme maintenance every single day, and the sailors that keep that ship going need the same maintenance every day, too,” Oliveria said.
She added, “Families are feeling a loss of confidence. They are looking for reassurance in a really vulnerable time, and leadership seems to be really short on compassion.”
A few days earlier, Hegseth claimed that the conditions on the Lincoln have been “completely misrepresented.”
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The USS George Washington is on its way to take the Lincoln’s place, relieving the ailing ship and worn-out crew after more than 260 days at sea.
But this is creating another problem. When the George Washington leaves Japan for the Middle East, it means the U.S. won’t have an aircraft carrier stationed in the western Pacific. That creates a vulnerability in the region with North Korea missile tests and China monitoring Taiwan and Japan, according to Raw Story.
But the Lincoln isn’t the only naval problem Trump and Hegseth face.
The guided-missile destroyer the USS Benfold lost power and was afloat in the sweltering South China Sea for four days earlier this month. The ship had no air conditioning, usable toilets, or galley service.
The Daily Beast reported the Benfold was towed to the Philippines for repairs, becoming the second Pacific Command destroyer to lose power this year.
