Why is Trump lying about the US sailors trapped at sea by his war with Iran?

`What’s the story?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, things are not great onboard the US navy’s USS Abraham Lincoln warship right now.

The ship was deployed on 11 December 2025 as part of Donald Trump’s war against Iran, and due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, remains far from home.

Images of the filthy conditions and wretched meals served to the thousands onboard have been shared online, along with reports of people attempting to jump overboard due to deteriorating mental health.

All this has been denied by Donald Trump, of course, who has described it as a “fake CNN report” and claimed people on the Lincoln have told him the ship is being “beautifully taken care of”.

“It is absolutely the mirror of what has gone wrong in Iran with Operation Epic Fury, which was meant to be over in a few weeks,” says Jon Sopel.

“The deployment of these poor 5,000-or-so sailors on board the Abraham Lincoln goes on seemingly without end.

“This story just won't go away. In the same way that the ship just won't go into port.”

The metaphors don't stop there. The leaking pipes, says Miles Taylor, who worked in Trump’s first administration, also represent the release of details from sailors' families, who have been speaking to the US media about the experiences of their relatives onboard the Lincoln.

“What this administration has done is denied that there is a problem,” Miles says.

“This is one of those classic examples in politics where if you take responsibility, a story can go away faster. If you evade responsibility, people keep digging into the details to get to the truth.”

The ‘mental health pressure cooker’ on the USS Abraham Lincoln

Jon Sopel says the longest he ever spent on a naval ship was seven days – by which point he was desperate off.

“You have claustrophobia because you're surrounded by people in this very confined space, and you've also got agoraphobia,” he says.

“All you see is the deep blue sea all around you, and the occasional seagull.

“You feel very alone in the world.”

Miles says the longer the USS Lincoln remains stuck in the Middle East, the more stories of attempted suicide and shocking conditions will be exposed.

“Deployments are getting extended, communications to their families are being forbidden,” he says.

“The ceilings are low. It's dark. It's dim. There's no view outdoors.”

“You have a pressure cooker that is built for mental health crises, and that is what we have seen in recent weeks.”

Navy quarters onboard the USS Lincoln, which Miles has experienced first-hand, are smaller than cells in US jails.

Donald Trump says deployment should last even longer

There has been no compassion shown by the US president towards the men and women trapped on the USS Lincoln, and he has even told reporters that its deployment should be extended even further. 

Jon says he likely believes this, because of the people surrounding him inside his MAGA administration.

“When Donald Trump is under pressure or cornered about a policy, there is always someone who tells him what he wants to hear,” he says.

“You just have this feeling that this is a total invention.”

This suggestion, Miles adds, is coming for a man who dodged his own military service due to bone spurs, a minor and non-serious growth condition.

“It would be one thing if the administration was denying that the conditions were as bad as people say they are. But as always, it is worse than that,” Miles says.

“Donald Trump has said this deployment, which families say is unlike any other that their relatives have been on, is 'not nearly long enough'.”

How Trump’s inaction and denial could make things a whole lot worse

While the Iran war has been one of ballistic missiles and navy strikes, the psychological war waged by the Iranian regime against Donald Trump could result in further global destabilisation.

Already, America's USS George Washington is being diverted from the seas off the coast of China, where it has been on standby due to a threat of its invasion of Taiwan.

Miles describes its stationing as a "vital strategic asset" to prevent this happening – and this is just one in a string of alarming geopolitical situations now being neglected by the US in order to focus on Iran.

“Donald Trump has also basically said he's backing away from allies in the region in South Korea because he says they've been disrespectful to nuclear armed, and belligerent, North Korea,” he says.

“The United States has been taking its eye off the ball in Eastern Europe as well, where it's been reported that Vladimir Putin is stockpiling drones and potential military resources for a possible incursion into NATO territory to test its defences and resolve.

“Iran is keeping Donald Trump from focusing on three potential major strategic flashpoints around the world, and right now, a lot of national security folks, on both sides of the political aisle, by the way, are worried about those vulnerabilities.”

Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.