Having failed to gain enough traction on the Air Force One rope-a-dope story from earlier in the week, the legacy media – in its never ending quest for a "gotcha story" on President Trump – has made a hard pivot and is now focused on the conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. (A topic they didn't care one iota about until it occurred to them that possibly unhappy sailors could reflect poorly on the Commander in Chief.)
Here is RedState's Bob Hoge reporting on the media's reaction to the supposed widespread misery on the Lincoln, which has been on a long-term deployment in the Middle East:
The reports are everywhere — miserable conditions supposedly aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, including food shortages, broken plumbing, widespread exhaustion, and plummeting morale. It’s so bad, these reports say, that some sailors have attempted to jump overboard and presumably drown. Breathless headlines like “Conditions on US aircraft carrier at sea for more than 250 days raise alarms” are rampant.
As Bob noted, the increasing histrionics from the media led CENTCOM to release an "everybody just calm down" statement to set the record straight, particularly about a false report that seven sailors had died in a brawl aboard the Lincoln. Here's CENTCOM:
Over the past 48 hours, multiple media outlets have reported several false claims related to USS Abraham Lincoln's (CVN 72) deployment to the Middle East. One report alleged seven Sailors died in a brawl aboard the aircraft carrier and others have recently suggested a spike in suicidal ideations. These reports are FALSE.
This did little to placate the press, which is hungry to head into the weekend with something to pin on Trump for the Sunday morning news shows.
Not willing to play that game, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao released a statement Friday afternoon shooting down the idea that the Lincoln and its crew were experiencing anything other than a long and challenging deployment. Something sailors and their families have dealt with for decades.
SEE ALSO: Trump's Air Force One 'Decoy' Fooled the Press. Good. That Was the Point.
Cao said the crew "crushed their deployment" and will soon return home as a part of a normal, planned rotation. And while there have been some challenges – aircraft carriers are like floating cities and, with that, come certain hardships – the crew remains unbroken.
— Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao (@SECNAV) August 14, 2026
The USS Abraham Lincoln crushed their deployment and will return home soon as part of a planned rotation. Details will come but let me be clear: the safety and security of our Sailors and Marines always comes first.
Mission accomplishment. Troop Welfare. This is how we lead.
The Lincoln was extended because the mission demanded it. Deployments are hard. Combat operations make them harder. War is hell and normal routines are disrupted. One of the hardest aspects about warfighting beyond knowingly placing our service members in harm’s way is that even with the best planning and communication, change and uncertainty will always be in play. Our success depends on how we adapt.
Sailors and Marines are expected to dig deep—and they always do. A leader’s responsibility is to take care of their people the best they can while balancing mission requirements. During this deployment we have seen both: the job is getting done and our leaders are taking care of their people.
Unfortunately, the media are trying to paint our warriors as victims. Not only is that dishonest but it takes away the focus on the enemy and the threat it poses against our nation, people, and way of life.
Here is the truth—
- 266 days deployed.
- 200 days in a combat zone.
- 10,000+ sorties.
- 1.5M lbs. of ordnance dropped.
- And retention rates on the ABE are amongst the highest of all carriers.
It is also true—
- A small number of mental health cases were treated with no loss of life.
- Meal plans were adjusted when fresh resupply was unavailable, without a single meal being missed.
- Calls home were limited when the operational threat was too high.
There is no question our young men and women have been pushed to their limits—but they have never broken. They are rightly tired—but have never been out of the fight. However, it is clear, knowing the whole story, our force and their families are not victims. They are the epitome of American strength and resilience.
So, when the USS Abraham Lincoln pulls into the pier, join me and stand proudly with a grateful heart and give our Sailors and Marines the Hero’s Welcome they deserve.
Semper Fi and Hooyah.
No one is downplaying the challenging conditions aboard the Lincoln. Nine months at sea, much of it spent in combat operation, is no picnic, and the sailors and Marines aboard her have every right to be exhausted and eager to get home to their families.
The Lincoln is coming home. Her crew did the job they were sent to do. And after 266 days at sea, perhaps the story isn't that they were "victims" of Donald Trump.
Perhaps the story is exactly what Cao said – they crushed the mission.
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