Trump dismisses concerns over conditions on US aircraft carrier

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump dismissed concerns on Aug 14 over living conditions and the mental health of service members on a US aircraft carrier deployed against Iran and said the ship would soon rotate out.

Asked by reporters whether family members were worried about the situation on the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, Trump said “no, they’re not.”

Trump also rejected that the ship – now in its ninth month at sea – had been deployed for too long. “No, no, no, not nearly enough,” he said.

Trump confirmed reports that the Abraham Lincoln was due to be rotated with a replacement aircraft carrier as the United States remains locked in a stalemate with Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz and the country’s nuclear programme.

“That ship is moving right now or very shortly and it’s being replaced with another very similar ship,” Trump said.

US media, including specialist military publications, have quoted multiple relatives of crew members saying living conditions have deteriorated on the Abraham Lincoln. There have also been reports of several suicide attempts.

Democratic politicians are calling for probes into the situation.

The Lincoln departed California in November 2025 for duty in the South China Sea and was rerouted to the Middle East before US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began Feb 28.

Jonathan Schroden, chief research officer at the Centre for Naval Analyses, told AFP that carrier strike groups are generally designed for six-month deployments for reasons “including sailor welfare.” AFP