‘Not nearly long enough’

Trump rejects concerns Lincoln deployed for too long

FPJ World Desk Mumbai

US President Donald Trump dismissed concerns over living conditions and the mental health of service members on a US aircraft carrier deployed against Iran, saying the ship would soon rotate out. Whether families were worried about conditions on the Abraham Lincoln, Trump said, “No, they’re not.”

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

Trump confirmed the Abraham Lincoln would be replaced as the US remains locked in a stalemate with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz and the country’s nuclear programme. US media have reported deteriorating living conditions and suicide attempts aboard the carrier. Navy Times and Stars and Stripes reported multiple attempts by sailors to jump overboard amid poor conditions and mental stress.

One sailor jumped overboard in early August but was rescued, a US official confirmed. Families also raised concerns at a town hall meeting with navy leaders in San Diego last week. One spouse said her husband had texted that day saying “he hopes he doesn’t wake up tomorrow”, Stars and Stripes reported.

The US navy said it had “not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship” but declined to provide data.

Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao on Friday downplayed the reports, saying “sailors and marines are expected to dig deep”. The navy acknowledged a “small number” of mental health cases had been treated with no loss of life. Democratic politicians have called for probes into the situation. Jonathan Schroden of the Center for Naval Analyses told AFP that carrier strike groups are generally designed for six-month deployments for reasons “including sailor welfare”.

VOW TO ABOLISH US SANCTUARY CITIES

Trump has vowed to abolish sanctuary cities in the US as part of his immigration crackdown, accusing jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal authorities of protecting criminals. “We will never abolish the police instead. We will abolish the sanctuary cities. We will abolish them; we will destroy them; we will take them out,” Trump said.

He described sanctuary jurisdictions as the biggest obstacle to his administration's immigration enforcement campaign.

POTUS CLAIMS FALL IN VIOLENT CRIME

Trump announced what he described as the largest fall in violent crime in US history, citing an FBI report that he said showed sharp reductions in murders and other serious offences in 2025. “Today, I’m thrilled to announce that the FBI has just released a new uniform crime report showing in 2025, we achieved the single largest reduction in violent crime in American history,” Trump said.

BBC Seeks Trump Family Subpoenas

The BBC has sought permission to subpoena Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner for documents and testimony in US President Donald Trump’s $10bn defamation lawsuit over a Panorama episode.