After the Air Force One speculation failed to gain significant attention, the legacy media is now fixating on another sensational topic: the situation aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. In what seems to be a relentless pursuit of a headline-grabbing “gotcha moment” concerning President Trump, these media outlets have abruptly shifted their attention. Despite historically showing little interest, they are now probing into alleged dissatisfaction among sailors, hoping it might cast a shadow over the Commander in Chief’s actions.
RedState’s Bob Hoge has been closely observing this media frenzy over the purported unhappiness on the Lincoln, which has been stationed on extended duty in the Middle East. Here’s his take on the situation:
Numerous outlets have painted a picture of dire conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. Stories abound about food scarcity, malfunctioning plumbing, widespread fatigue, and collapsing morale. The narrative has grown so grim, some reports suggest sailors are driven to such despair that they have attempted to leap overboard. Sensational headlines, such as “Conditions on US aircraft carrier at sea for more than 250 days raise alarms,” have flooded the news cycle, exaggerating the scenario.
According to Bob, this heightened media drama prompted CENTCOM to issue a clarifying statement urging calm and refuting misinformation. They specifically addressed a fabricated story claiming a deadly altercation aboard the Lincoln resulted in the deaths of seven sailors. CENTCOM’s response sought to dispel these misleading assertions:
“In the last 48 hours, numerous media outlets have disseminated several inaccurate claims about the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during its mission in the Middle East. Among the false reports was an allegation of a fatal skirmish involving seven sailors on the aircraft carrier, alongside rumors of a spike in suicidal tendencies. These statements are unequivocally FALSE.”
This did little to placate the press, which is hungry to head into the weekend with something to pin on Trump for the Sunday morning news shows.
Not willing to play that game, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao released a statement Friday afternoon shooting down the idea that the Lincoln and its crew were experiencing anything other than a long and challenging deployment. Something sailors and their families have dealt with for decades.