Trump: Record-setting Navy deployment to support Iran operations ‘not nearly long enough’

By Konstantin Toropin and Aamer Madhani The Associated Press August 14, 2026 - 1:27 pm WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday minimized the strain experienced by American sailors serving a record‑setting deployment of roughly nine months aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, even as worries mounted over mental‑health and logistical challenges on the carrier supporting U.S. operations against Iran. Speaking to reporters before departing for New York to discuss declining violent‑crime rates nationwide, Trump rejected claims that family members had voiced concerns about the length of the deployment and insisted that the more‑than‑260‑day stint was “not nearly long enough.” “The vessel is moving close now, oregon precise shortly, and it’s being replaced with different precise akin ship,” Trump said when questioned about the extended deployment. The Lincoln has been engaged in the U.S. effort against Iran, prompting several Democratic senators — Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ruben Gallego of Arizona — to demand Pentagon accountability for conditions on the carrier, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday described as “completely misrepresented.” Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, a veteran of three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division and 75th Ranger Regiment before his election, took to social media to criticize the president’s remarks, posting on X that “President Trump does not attraction astir our servicemembers oregon their families.” Prolonged carrier deployments during the Iran confrontation have heightened concerns about the effect on service members separated from home for lengthy periods, as well as the growing wear on the ship and its systems. Although hostilities between the United States and Iran have eased in recent weeks, the Navy has reinstated a blockade of Iranian ports in the vital Strait of Hormuz, and the Trump administration has offered no specifics on how it intends to conclude the conflict. Hegseth asserted that the U.S. military can sustain the blockade of Iranian ports “indefinitely.” A second carrier, the USS George Washington, left port in Da Nang, Vietnam, last week and is slated to relieve the USS Lincoln, one of two carriers presently stationed in the Middle East. Following reports of sailors on the Lincoln grappling with mental‑health issues, the Navy stated it has “not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship,” although officials declined to release data, citing operational security and privacy considerations. A Navy official noted that a sailor aboard the Lincoln went overboard in early August, was promptly rescued, received treatment from the ship’s medical team, and was transferred ashore for further care; the official would not confirm whether the incident was being treated as a suicide attempt. U.S. Central Command, which directs military operations in the Middle East, has also challenged reports describing substandard conditions aboard the vessel. AP writer Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.