Trump: Nearly nine-month carrier deployment in Iran war 'not nearly long enough'

President Donald Trump on Friday sought to play down growing concerns about the nearly nine-month deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been supporting U.S. operations against Iran. Speaking to reporters before leaving for New York for an event on falling violent crime rates, Trump rejected suggestions that sailors' families had complained about the length of the deployment. He went further, saying the more than 260-day mission was "not nearly long enough."

"That ship is moving right now, or very shortly, and it's being replaced with another very similar ship," Trump said when asked about the deployment. The carrier has been involved in the U.S. war against Iran. Several Democratic lawmakers, including Senators Richard Blumenthal and Ruben Gallego, are demanding accountability from the Pentagon over the conditions aboard the vessel. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that reports about those conditions were "completely misrepresented."

Representative Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat and former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, criticized Trump's remarks on X, writing that "President Trump does not care about our servicemembers or their families." The long rotations of carriers during the Iran conflict have raised questions about the toll on crews being away from home for extended periods and additional stress on the ships and their equipment.

Although fighting between the U.S. and Iran has subsided in recent weeks, the Navy has reimposed a blockade of Iranian ports in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The Trump administration has yet to explain how it intends to end the war. Hegseth said the U.S. military could maintain the blockade "indefinitely."

Another carrier, USS George Washington, departed Da Nang, Vietnam, last week and is expected to replace the Lincoln, one of two U.S. carriers currently deployed in the Middle East. After reports emerged of mental health struggles among the Lincoln's crew, the Navy said it had "not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship," but declined to provide data, citing operational security and patient privacy. A Navy official said a sailor went overboard in early August, was quickly recovered, treated and transferred off the ship for follow-on care; the official would not say whether it was being considered a suicide attempt. U.S. Central Command also pushed back on reports about poor conditions.