USA18 August, 20263 min read
Donald Trump Dismisses USS Abraham Lincoln Food Shortage Reports, Tells CNN Reporter Kristen Holmes To Be Quiet
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Trump called reports of deteriorating USS Lincoln conditions 'fake' CNN report. He told CNN reporter Kristen Holmes to be quiet during the exchange.
9 outlets told this the same way.
Trump vs CNN on USS Lincoln
President Donald Trump dismissed reports of food shortages and deteriorating living conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln as "fake news" during an Oval Office exchange on Monday (Aug 17). Trump berated CNN reporter Kristen Holmes after she raised questions about conditions aboard the carrier, telling her to "be quiet" during the exchange. Trump said he had received what he described as third-hand information from a retired admiral, who allegedly told him that the Lincoln was being "beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of".
The USS Abraham Lincoln, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, left San Diego on November 21, 2025, and has spent more than 250 days at sea without making a port call, setting a modern record for the longest such deployment. In the same Oval Office availability, Trump also insisted that a question about a reduction in US military exercises with South Korea was met with his dismissal of the reporter’s framing as "fake news reporting from CNN".
Admiral praise and mental health
NBC News reported that Adm. Brad Cooper, the leader of U.S. Central Command, wrote Sunday that his recent visit to the USS Abraham Lincoln was "awe-inspiring" and hailed the crew’s "resilience" following rising concerns about mental health and deteriorating conditions.
Cooper wrote that the Lincoln had the lowest number of mental health cases of the Navy’s 11 active aircraft carriers, while also acknowledging that long periods at sea are "uniquely challenging and tough" for service members.
The NBC News report said loved ones of some of the thousands aboard the ship described to NBC News and other news organizations a lack of supplies and food and an overall deteriorating mental health situation, including multiple sailors having attempted to jump overboard.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier this week that reports about conditions on the ship "completely misrepresented" the situation, and President Donald Trump on Friday dismissed concerns about the length of the ship’s deployment as "not nearly long enough."
NBC News added that the USS George Washington is expected to replace the Lincoln in the Middle East, with a replacement timeline that could take several weeks for completion and at least two weeks for the Lincoln to return to San Diego.
Family, lawmakers, and next steps
The Hill reported that Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee responded to Trump’s remarks by sharing a photo of a dinner consisting of diced carrots, a hamburger patty and “a gray slab of processed meat” reportedly served aboard the ship. The Hill also reported that CNN’s Pamela Brown initially reported on conditions aboard the Lincoln after an official said a sailor had gone overboard wearing a vest, with the Navy considering the incident to have been a mental health episode. The Hill said recent reports described poor conditions including moldy showers and rotten food, with multiple sailors even attempting to jump off the aircraft carrier.
The Hill further reported that Navy leadership met with family members of sailors aboard the Lincoln over worries that the Middle East deployment will lead to worsening mental health and the risk of self-harm aboard the vessel. In a separate account, WION said Trump defended the carrier’s record-breaking deployment length and claimed the Lincoln was "beautifully maintained" after his exchange with Holmes at the White House on Monday (Aug 17).