People were outraged on Friday after President Donald Trump downplayed the reportedly poor conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln, where service members have described a dire situation.
Trump was boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland heading to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York when the press corps started asking him questions about the naval vessel and sailors on board.
"Family members of service members are concerned about conditions on the USS Lincoln," one reporter said.
"That ship is moving. No, they’re not," Trump responded, saying that the ship would be replaced with another ship.
"Has the deployment gone on too long?" The reporter asked.
"No, no, no. Not nearly long enough," Trump said, not acknowledging military family members' worries.
Political commentators and media experts reacted to the president's remarks.
Internet personality and Chronicles associate editor Pedro L. Gonzalez reacted to Trump's response.
"Trump doesn't care about American troops at all," Gonzalez wrote on X. "He thinks people who serve in the military are suckers. He thinks people who fight and die for this country are fools. I don't know how you can hear Trump explicitly state that he's unconcerned about these service members and their families, that he thinks they haven't been deployed *long enough* in his idiotic war, and still conclude that he's deeply concerned about American lives."
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), an Iraq war veteran, had a sharp reaction to Trump's comments.
"Cadet Bone Spurs thinks he understands what happens on deployments," Gallego wrote on X.
Progressive activist Alex Cole mocked Trump.
"Trump: We love our military. Military: We have concerns. Trump: No you don’t," Cole wrote on X.
U.S. Army veteran and activist Skyleigh Uhrich had a direct message for families of military service members.
"Attention Military & Military Families: Trump said 200 days of deployment at sea with no port of call is not along [sic] enough! All of you need to vote accordingly in November, all of your family members are being used as pawns in his sick game! He wouldn’t last 24 hrs pathetic mf!" Uhrich wrote on X.
Liberal commentator Lucas Sanders responded to the president.
"Translation: I don’t care about their conditions," Sanders wrote on X.
Trump doesn't care about American troops at all. He thinks people who serve in the military are suckers. He thinks people who fight and die for this country are fools. I don't know how you can hear Trump explicitly state that he's unconcerned about these service members and their… https://t.co/oEvuDGiZ9j
— Pedro L. Gonzalez (@emeriticus) August 14, 2026