Donald Trump had a stunningly dismissive message for the families of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln who have raised alarms about their loved ones’ deteriorating conditions.
After almost nine months at sea, the plight of sailors on the carrier has become more grim, with claims of multiple sailors attempting to go overboard and reports of broken toilets, moldy showers and inadequate food.
But asked on Friday whether family members were concerned about conditions on the ship, Trump replied, “No, they’re not.”
Then came the question of whether the deployment had gone on too long given the mental health risks.
“No, no, no. Not nearly long enough,” he said, before walking off to board Air Force One on a trip to New York.
The dismissive response came as the Lincoln finds itself at the center of a growing political storm over the human cost of the Trump administration’s war with Iran.
About 200 relatives attended a town hall last week with Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao and other senior military officials, raising concerns about exhaustion, mental health, food and water shortages, plumbing problems, sanitation and disrupted mail.
A pair of military outlets—the Stars and Stripes and the Navy Times—report that several sailors have attempted to go overboard or have gone overboard on the Lincoln, with one sailor reportedly in the water for an hour before being rescued.
Loved ones shared texts with MeidasTouch claiming the ship can’t get any fresh food, and that even some once-frozen meat arrives rotten. A sailor’s family member also told MS NOW that their loved one has been eating “half a cup of rice and two tortillas” a day.
Family members have also described out-of-service toilets and laundry rooms that have been inaccessible for weeks.
The carrier has been at sea for eight-and-a-half months, much longer than the typical deployment of about six months.
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