Sen. Jon Ossoff ripped into President Donald Trump last weekend as “uniquely despicable” for “lying a nation into war” in Iran and then keeping service members aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East for nearly nine months amid deteriorating living conditions.
“While the sailors on the Lincoln fight his war – while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves – the president sleeps through his meetings,” Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat seeking re-election, said at a campaign event Aug 16.
“He golfs and trades stocks,” Ossoff said. “See, he doesn’t want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with (executive assistant) Natalie (Harp) on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”
Stephen
Cheung, the president’s top spokesperson, who often doubles as his vociferous attack dog, lit up X on Aug. 17 with a derisive new nickname for Ossoff and called him the biggest "loser in politics,” using a derogatory term for a man whose wife is unfaithful.
USA TODAY reported in April that sailors aboard the carrier and the USS Tripoli hadn't received care packages and weren't routinely being fed fresh food. The Pentagon denied those reports, while some Democratic lawmakers called for an investigation into the conditions.
In August, military-focused news outlets began reporting on deteriorating conditions on the Lincoln, which was stationed in the South China Sea before deploying to the Middle East. The Lincoln has been away from port since December, a lengthy deployment by Navy standards. Among the concerns are poor morale and mental health crises among service members.
Trump officials, retired general call reports of poor conditions false
Like Cheung, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the reports are false and defended the president. A retired Army general and commentator, Jack Keane, called the reporting about the Lincoln untrue. But Republican lawmakers largely remain silent about the conditions on the Lincoln - not harshly criticizing the administration, but not defending it either.
Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska, said on CBS’ "Face The Nation" on Aug. 16 that Trump used poor phrasing in comments to journalists last week when he dismissed the plight of the sailors and said their deployment was “not long enough.”
“It’s better to acknowledge, ‘Hey, this is hard on the families. It’s hard on the service members,’” Bacon said. “Thank them for being willing to defend our country and being willing to do these 10-month deployments.”
When the moderator asked Bacon whether Congress should investigate what happened on the Lincoln over the last nine months, he said, "Now, we should have oversight," and recommended bringing in the secretary of the Navy or another high-ranking official and "have them explain to us the truth on that."
Dem says conditions on carrier 'national disgrace'
Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona and a retired Navy officer, called for an investigation into the conditions in a social media video, citing reports that sailors have tried to jump off the ship to end their lives. “Our service members deserve better than this,” Kelly said.
Responding to Kelly’s description of a sailor who had lost more than 20 pounds while on the ship,Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, wrote, This is a national disgrace.”
Sen. Ruben Gallego, another Democrat from Arizona, said on ABC This Week on Aug. 16 that sailors who return home are going to seriously reconsider whether they want to keep serving in the Navy because of how poorly they’re being treated. He accused the Trump administration of “basically downplaying their sacrifice.”
Amid a flood of reporting on conditions aboard the carrier, Hegseth said Aug. 14 that journalists “intentionally misrepresent the USS Abraham Lincoln.”
Adm. Brad Cooper, commander for U.S. Central Command, issued a statement Aug. 16 saying that the USS Lincoln “has among the lowest number of cases related to mental health” among 11 active aircraft carriers.
“Find any of the nearly 4 million Navy veterans in America today, and they will likely tell you that service at sea for long periods isn’t for everyone,” Cooper wrote. “It is uniquely challenging and tough, and every single one of us, including me, reacts to stressors in different ways.”
Gallego characterizedthe comments as demonstrating “a true lack of leadership" from the Trump administration and an attitude where military leaders "just look at these men and women as being expendable.”
Suicides aboard Navy vessels have happened before, lawmaker says
Bacon, the Republican from Nebraska, suggested during his "Face the Nation" interview that Congress should bring in top Navy officials to testify about the situation. He agreed that long deployments are hard, pointing to his own yearlong deployment to Iraq and time he'd spent aboard an aircraft carrier.
“We had a couple of members jump overboard and commit suicide while I was on that deployment,” Bacon said. “So these incidences, they’re terrible, they’re sad, but it has happened previously, and unfortunately likely in the future as well.”
In his campaign stop, Ossoff said the service members aboard the USS Lincoln serve with excellence despite the hardships they face. “God bless” them, he said.
“They don’t expect luxury,” he said. “They’ll endure hardship. But they deserve competent leaders who send them into combat only when necessary … not fools who lie about the purpose and progress of war.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Despicable' or unfortunate? Lawmakers' fury amid USS Lincoln crisis
