Monday, August 17, 2026

Families of troops stranded on USS Lincoln slam Trump and Hegseth

Families of troops stranded on USS Lincoln slam Trump and Hegseth

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/8/17/800085502/news/uss-lincoln-families-slam-trump-hegseth/ 

Families of troops stranded on USS Lincoln slam Trump and Hegseth

by Emily Singer
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FILE - Sailors and Marines line the deck of aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) as it deploys from San Diego, Jan. 3, 2021. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP, File)
Sailors and Marines line the deck of aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in 2021.AP

Family members of the military personnel who have been left to languish on the USS Lincoln aircraft carrier off the coast of Iran are irate at President Donald Trump and his unqualified Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying the two men’s callous comments about the suffering of the service members are beyond the pale.

Both Trump and Hegseth denied widespread reports that the troops aboard the ship are facing a lack of proper nutrition, working toilets, and declining mental health due to their historically long deployment. The two have also had the audacity to say that the troops haven’t been deployed long enough.

“I grew up in a United States where you have to be very respectful of the military, as they’re making the ultimate sacrifice and protecting their country, and now you have the commander-in-chief and defense secretary dismissing their experiences and calling them liars. I’m really angry,” the sister of a crew member aboard the ship, who declined to give her name due to fear of retribution for her brother, told The Guardian. “It’s a feeling of betrayal. These are frustrating, false and careless comments, and they are going to have a lot of consequences for my brother.”

A mother of another young sailor on the ship echoed those sentiments.

“My son signed up to serve his country. But why isn’t his country serving him? They are not feeding him or supplying clean water, and living conditions are horrible. He didn’t sign up for that,” she told the Guardian.

Karen Bramlett, the grandmother of a service member aboard the ship, also was aghast at Trump’s dismissal of her grandson’s suffering.

“Donald Trump needs to be ashamed of himself to let them suffer the way that they’re doing,” Bramlett told NPR. “They’re over there fighting for our country. And this is the thanks they get? They can’t even get help from him or his administration.”

While Trump and Hegseth have denied the poor conditions, Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, visited the aircraft carrier on Saturday to assess the situation for himself, and acknowledged there were problems related to improper food supply and hot water. But Cooper said those issues were raised “months ago” and have been addressed—which also contradicts the reports from the family of troops on the ship.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting about military families, in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, shown on Aug. 3.AP

“What I found aboard the Lincoln is that many elements of those stories are old news,“ Cooper said in a statement after his visit.

Ultimately, the reports of the poor treatment of the troops forced to wage Trump’s ill-planned war in Iran are unlikely to help Trump and the GOP, who face serious midterm peril over the public’s disapproval of the conflict.

Already, the vast majority of Americans have said the war has not been worth it. After all, it has spiked prices here at home and has gone on months longer than Trump said it would. The president also continues to struggle to come up with an exit strategy. 

Reports that the war is now negatively impacting Americans’ safety due to military readiness and a lack of munitions will surely sour the public’s views on the war even further.

While the war has not impacted military recruitment so far, Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona said the poor treatment of service members could lead to declining troop levels down the road. 

“It really goes to the deep, deep, deep problem here is that this administration did not plan for this war, did not plan how to get out of this war, did not really understand how this war was going to escalate,” Gallego said Sunday in an appearance on ABC News’s “This Week.”

Gallego added, “When they get back to home, when they start having that conversation with their wife or with their husband—is it worth rejoining? They’re going to have to think twice because look at how this leadership is treating them, and that again is … a true lack of leadership from [the] secretary of defense as well as the president.”

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  1. Comment by dogyears.

    Apparently, there is a problem with mail delivery, too. My time in service, mail was always a #1 priority.

    A very wise Senior Chief gave this young 2nd class some words of wisdom that I have never forgotten.

    To keep the people that work for you happy:

    #1. Don’t fuck with their mail

    #2. Don’t fuck with their chow

    #3. Don’t fuck with their leave

    All three of these rules of the road have been violated. Senior Chief O.T. Mills would be mad as hell...

  2. Comment by Angel Of Fear.

    rump/rethuglicans do not care about our soldiers/sailors/etc. If you're not a rich/white/CEO that leans to the right, you do not matter to them.

  3. Comment by Carnelian Orb.

    Unpatriotic crewmen and their family members of the USS Lincoln need to shut up! If Dear Leader say it's not been long enough, it's not been long enough! Maybe y'all are on a five year mission. Y'all ever think of that?*

    _____

    *Sarcasm

  4. Comment by hissing kitty.

    I've been wearing my hazmat suit and checking the RW noise machine. Many of the comments in this article are routinely criticizing the troops on board, attacking their families, and then praising Dumpty.

    As I've said before, whoever programs the bot algorithms gets the talking points from somewhere and that somewhere has money behind it. It's getting louder and more in your face.

    Crap like this gets out into social media and podcasts and uninformed people believe it.

    Just look at the puppy killer allegations out about El Sayed.

    I work with military people and many of the rank and file still support Dumpty because reasons.

    But our side insists on nice ads that show we'll reach across the aisle even if the other side knocks our teeth out.

    🤬

    https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16053535/Trumps-callous-US-sailors-Iran.html#

  5. Comment by schlappusilly.

    Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command says it is old news. Well, Admiral, this shit show happened under your watch, your failure, you failed our soldiers and your word under Trump and Hegseth isn’t worth a wooden nickel. Disgraceful!

  6. Comment by kurious.

    "Why Our Commander-in-Chief is Incapable of Good Leadership" (Robert Bruce Adolph, 9/10/25) Trump's terrible leadership has only gotten worse:

    "Tragically, Donald Trump is incapable of providing good leadership for our Armed Forces and has proven it time and again. I have published, spoken, and taught leadership principles for over four decades. Here is why I am certain of my opinion. There are two primary components of good leadership: competence and caring. Tragically, America’s once and again chief executive is a clear failure on both counts..."

    "Many have heard it before, but it bears repeating often. This president is an obvious narcissist. Narcissists lack empathy. Empathy is the key character trait of all good leaders..."

    "What about competence? History’s judgment will be harsh. This Commander-in-Chief may be the least competent person ever to sit behind the Resolute Desk..."

    "...Although a reasonable level of intelligence is fundamental, good leadership is about accepting responsibility and possessing the character to bear burdens for others. This White House occupant renounces responsibility like the mongoose recoils from the cobra’s strike. His straight-from-the-hip and go-to position is to blame others. He plays the role of victim with undisguised relish..."

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/why-our-commander-in-chief-is-incapable-of-good-leadership/ar-AA1Mi6Ek

    Although this opinion piece was written before Trump's further, and worse accumulation of failures domestically, and militarily, his ongoing disasters are piling up to the point of becoming an existential crisis.

    But, when one is incompetent, yet delusional about their abilities, they can't be counted on to suddenly become competent, reasonable, or caring.

    Instead, Constitutionally, and morally, it is up to the Congress to provide oversight of a President running amuck, endangering the military and the country. It is the Congress who are to blame for this current abuse of the troops, and emboldening of the enemy, as the President's incompetence is a public spectacle, that all the world can see.

  7. Comment by De veritas.

    "No, they aren't", says Mr Box Rump.

  8. Comment by suzeli.

    All those clogged toilets on the Lincoln were probably caused by VANDALS!!!! Just switch back to steam catapults and mid-deck islands, and morale will certainly improve!

    • Reply by Baby Seal.

      People are saying they saw someone paddling over to the Lincoln in a canoe very recently.

    • Reply by suzeli.

      Many people. With tears in their eyes, sir.

  9. Comment by Churchill.

    The Don & Pete show, coming soon to an International Criminal Court small jail cell in The Hauge for War Crimes. Murdering 2OO Venuzuelan Fishermen in International Waters.

    • Reply by suzeli.

      It's not a crime to kill people, if we claim they were traffickers. File that away for later use.

  10. Comment by Paul C.

    If Democrats were in power Republicans would have sailors lined up in front of the cameras. They would be making a major production of this. Again and again we are fighting with one hand tied behind our back.

  11. Comment by ShootingStarNC.

    I don't understand the inability to supply these ships. The bit where Bahrain would quickly come under Iranian attack and become unusable is no surprise to anyone except the Trump administration and Hegseth and his Trump buddies in the Pentagon. I mean, c'mon...

    But the part that needs some explanation for me is why they have not worked around that. We have a security partnership agreement with Oman. Their port to the south in Salalah should be out of the way of Iranian attack, offers a deep water containership port and a modern airport with a 13,000 foot runway. Why can't you airlift food, toilet paper - all the stuff these sailors don't have to Salalah and fly or ship it out to the fleet? Doesn't seem hard. I googled all of that in maybe 5 minutes. Seems doable.

    And all of the above pales in comparison to Trump/Hegseth's reaction to this which is unconscionable. These 2 are systematically pissing away American military power and credibility in the world. None of this is quickly restored.

    Trump's handlers at Moscow Center must be very pleased right now. Best investment they ever made...

    Will North Korea or China take advantage of this? Remains to be seen.

    Thanks Trump. Thanks Republicans - you all really suck...

  12. Comment by BluMominRedSt.

    Hogsbreath and twit don't care about the troops? It's another day with a Y.

    But seriously, just like the lie of the GOP being better on the economy how do we counter the decades long lie that the GOP care about the military? They don't. They never have. They care about lining the Military Industrial Complex' pockets. It's never ever been about the troops. They're just for photo ops. I mean, this isn't rocket science. Look at how the GOP treat the VA. And I remember when they wouldn't pay to armor the bottom of service vehicles to protect from IED.

    But how many of the military still votes for this BS?

    • Reply by jfromga.

      The military vote tended to run conservative. But after years of a Commander in Chief whose attitude is ‘Shut the fuck up and just die already’ , the GOP is going to lose votes among the enlisted troops. As well as not being able to replace them. Among the serious command track who probably attended the service schools (especially West Point and the Naval Academy the Air Force Academy seems to have more right wing loonies) they agave been seeing higher than normal resignations. That is probably a good sign of losing support even in the officer ranks).

    • Reply by ADReed.

      Hope you're right that the GOP is going to lose votes among the enlisted troops. Even more I hope that the families of those enlisted troops, parents and siblings and children who are of age, will also come to realize that their loved ones are in danger thanks to this regime, and that they can turn out a hell of a big vote, too. Think of every sailor on that ship as having a mother and father and brother and sister, and right there you've got five times the electoral power of just the enlisted person sending in a vote by mail.

  13. Comment by Slideman.

    I am SO SICK AND TIRED of this trope about Republicans being more respectful of the military! Their consistent actions show this to not be the case!!

    The families SHOULD slam both of them and I hope that they continue to do so!

  14. Comment by LeMoJoust.

    A reporter for the Middle School Times in `Possum Nutz North Carolina would reach out to these families, but the pathetic preening purse poodle legacy media is having too much fun at the MAGA freakshow to rock the boat.

    • Reply by BluMominRedSt.

      I really love "preening purse poodle legacy media". Very accurate.

  15. Comment by Bottomleftcorner.

    Angry families mean service members who aren’t going to re-enlist. Then the stop losses will begin, or they will have to crank up Great GDLakes.

  16. Comment by gary turner.

    ““It really goes to the deep, deep, deep problem here is that this administration did not plan for this war, did not plan how to get out of this war, did not really understand how this war was going to escalate,” Gallego said …

    I think it’s more basic than that. To these corrupt, power-hungry maniacs, we, the people, are nothing more than fodder for their testosterone-addled cosplay. And, even worse, as has been said, the cruelty is the point. Being cruel is their safe place. It’s evidence they’re in charge. The service members suffering on this ship are not suffering as a byproduct of some lack of planning. They’re suffering because that *is* the plan.

    • Reply by A Citizen.

      Trump wanted a short, victorious war that would be over in a couple days, just like Putin wanted Zelenskyy to stuff a suitcase with money and flee the country, and the war be over in days. To plan for a longer war would have been seen as disloyal. The Dear Leader wants a quick victory and anyone who planned for anyone else would be shown the door. And even then, they didn't have anyone else who could plan.

      Trump sees the troops as "the help", insects who are beneath him.

  17. Comment by DrDiva.

    "Old news" or not, it's way past time for those guys to have a port call. This is gross negligence. The families are right to be outraged.

    • Reply by A Citizen.

      Indeed, "old news" can still be current events. It's like calling 911 because the house is on fire and having them say "old news" and hang up because the house as been burning for a while. The right loves the "to soon/too late" dichotomy. When the ship is being steered into the iceberg, they say it's "too soon" to do anything about it, but when you hit, it's "too late". They never allow for their to be a right time.

  18. Comment by Simnsays.

    I do not know the extent of what's going on but I do know this: Trump no longer cares enough about anything except his tacky vanity projects, his bribes and his retribution, to even PRETEND he gives a shit about the PEOPLE.

    • Reply by Recluse.

      And they still vote for him and his ilk....

    • Reply by A Noah Count.

      That makes me wonder...how many of these people who are now disgruntled with the Pumpkin Pinochet voted for him?

    • Reply by hissing kitty.

      There are those who'd happily due, do long as they own the libs. Or bring about the arrival of a vengeful warlord from the sky.

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