Wife of Service Member Rips Trump Administration’s ‘Infuriating’ Denial About Conditions Aboard USS Abraham Lincoln

A wife of a service member aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln tore into President Donald Trump’s administration on CNN Friday for its “infuriating” denial of what she described as extremely poor conditions aboard the ship.

Reports about the ship have drawn widespread attention this week as its deployment, which began in November, stretches months beyond its originally anticipated May return amid the ongoing war with Iran. MS NOW reported Thursday that the wife of a 19-year-old sailor who jumped overboard on Aug. 3 described the incident as a suicide attempt and accused the Navy of keeping her in the dark for four days after he was rescued. She said her husband had struggled with exhaustion and homesickness and had sought help from his chain of command and the ship’s medical team, only to be brushed aside. A separate MeidasTouch report detailed accounts of supply and food shortages aboard the ship, including messages from a sailor who claimed the crew had gone without milk for three months and was sometimes served “rotten” meat.

Also on Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied such conditions. On Friday, he went even further, positing on X, “The reckless & shameless ‘American’ media completely & intentionally misrepresent the USS Abraham Lincoln. The brave Sailors of that Strike Group are very proud of their tough & historic mission.”

Not to mention, Trump claimed Friday that family members aren’t actually concerned about their loved ones aboard the ship and that their deployment has gone on “not nearly long enough.”

Speaking with CNN’s Jake Tapper on the Friday edition of The Lead, the wife of a service member on the USS Abraham Lincoln confirmed reports of very small portions of “appalling” food, adding, “He is saying that this is the worst deployment that he’s ever been on.”

When asked for her reaction to the president’s comments, the woman responded:

I don’t think the man thinks before he talks, and I was really hoping that at some point, there would be a redemption. Try to redeem yourself, at least a little bit, with everything that you do and everything that you say. Try to redeem yourself. Have some sympathy, some empathy, take some accountability for what’s going on with your military, your ships, and your war. And your war.

Um, it’s infuriating. I mean, we heard what Hegseth said yesterday, what the president is saying today. It’s infuriating, saying, essentially, that families are lying and service members are lying, even though the proof is right here on my phone. It is not fabricated. Nobody is lying. Everybody is — it’s infuriating that they’re not taking accountability, and not having any sort of sympathy for our service members that they claim to scream and shout that they support, when it’s politically, you know, sound for them to use “support our troops, support our troops,” until our troops need support, and now suddenly everyone’s lying, and it’s a fabrication and a misrepresentation? It’s infuriating.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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