Trump dismisses record carrier deployment as 'not nearly long enough'
Trump says the USS Abraham Lincoln's record deployment supporting Iran operations is 'not nearly long enough,' dismissing concerns raised by lawmakers and families.
President Donald Trump on Friday dismissed concerns about the record-setting deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln, saying the carrier's more than 260 days at sea supporting operations against Iran is "not nearly long enough."
Speaking to reporters before departing for New York, Trump rejected worries raised by family members about the extended mission, adding that the ship is "moving right now, or very shortly, and it's being replaced with another very similar ship."
The comments come as several Democratic senators, including Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, press the Pentagon for answers about conditions aboard the carrier. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that reports of problems on the ship were "completely misrepresented."
Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, a former Army Ranger who served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, criticized Trump's remarks on social media, saying the president "does not care about our servicemembers or their families."
The prolonged deployment has raised questions about the toll on sailors separated from home for extended periods, as well as strain on the ship and its equipment. While direct hostilities with Iran have cooled in recent weeks, the Navy has reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, and the administration has not indicated how it plans to end the conflict. Hegseth said the military can sustain the blockade "indefinitely."
The USS George Washington, which left port in Vietnam last week, is expected to relieve the Lincoln, one of two carriers currently in the Middle East.
Following reports of mental health struggles among the crew, the Navy said it has "not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship," though officials have declined to release data, citing operational security and patient privacy. A Navy official confirmed that a sailor went overboard in early August but was quickly recovered, treated, and transferred off the ship for follow-on care; the official would not say whether it was being treated as a suicide attempt.
U.S. Central Command has also pushed back on reports of poor conditions aboard the carrier.