Trump: Lincoln Deployment 'Not Nearly Long Enough'
Trump: Lincoln Deployment 'Not Nearly Long Enough'
The News
The president's answer
Asked Friday whether the USS Abraham Lincoln's deployment had gone on too long, President Trump said it had lasted "not nearly long enough," The New York Times reported.
"That ship is moving right now, or very shortly, and it's being replaced with another very similar ship," Trump said, per Boston.com.
Reactions
Families push back
A wife of a service member aboard the Lincoln went on CNN Friday and called the administration's denial of conditions on the ship "infuriating," Mediaite reported. Raw Story reported the woman, who was not named, spoke with anchor Jake Tapper after Trump dismissed the families' accounts.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said reporting on the ship "completely misrepresented" conditions aboard, according to MSNBC.
What's Next
The ship is coming home
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao announced Friday that the Lincoln is returning to the United States, WSAV reported, as the length of the deployment came under scrutiny.
A new aircraft carrier is already en route to the Middle East, PBS NewsHour reported.
More
The carrier has been at sea supporting the U.S. war against Iran for a record uninterrupted stretch of more than 240 days, according to PBS NewsHour. Raw Story reported the ship's roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines are nine months into a deployment that was supposed to end in May.
Sailors and family members have described food shortages and severe strain. Snopes published an investigation Friday into claims that sailors aboard the Lincoln have tried to go overboard; the Navy has said it has not identified an increase in suicidal ideation or attempts.
The Times also reported that the Navy's supply problems on the Lincoln trace back to early in the war, when Iran damaged a U.S. base in Bahrain and logistics shifted to Diego Garcia — an island 2,200 miles from the Gulf of Oman.
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