WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday rejected suggestions that families of sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are worried about conditions facing their loved ones, while saying the aircraft carrier is expected to be relieved soon after a nine-month deployment.
“That ship is moving right now, or very shortly, and it’s being replaced with another very similar ship,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before leaving for an event on Long Island.
The comments came after multiple reports in recent days described deteriorating morale aboard the carrier, where roughly 5,000 service members have been stationed in the Arabian Sea since January, ahead of the start of combat operations against Iran. The reports cited poor living conditions and limited downtime as contributing to a serious mental strain on the crew.
The Navy Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that at least three sailors have either attempted to jump overboard or succeeded in doing so, prompting fellow service members to rescue them or physically stop them from going over the side.
More than 200 relatives met last week in San Diego with acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao to voice their concerns. But when a reporter told Trump that family members “are concerned about conditions” aboard the ship, the president replied, “No, they’re not.”
Trump also dismissed a question about whether the carrier, which was initially deployed to the South China Sea in November, had spent too much time away from port.
“No, not nearly long enough,” he said.
The Navy is sending the USS George Washington aircraft carrier to the Middle East to replace the Lincoln, though the ship is believed to remain several days away from reaching it.
