Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., condemned President Donald Trump in unusually harsh terms early Saturday after he dismissed concerns about sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, whose deployment has stretched nearly nine months, telling reporters they had “not nearly long enough” at sea. Ansari’s post on X responded to a clip of Trump’s remarks at Joint Base Andrews.
Ansari: “25th Amendment — Then Send Trump to Prison”
“He is absolutely insane, out of touch & evil. A conman who’s grifted his way to the presidency and is now actively stealing from us every day says that American service members at sea ‘have been deployed for not nearly long enough,’” Ansari wrote. “25th Amendment – then send Trump to prison.”
Trump Dismisses Family Concerns Before Boarding Air Force One
Trump made the remarks Friday afternoon while speaking briefly with reporters before departing Joint Base Andrews for New York, according to official White House video of the exchange. Asked about family members’ concerns over conditions aboard the carrier, Trump responded, “Well, no, that ship is go— We know they’re not. Uh, that ship is moving right now, or very shortly, and it’s being replaced with another very similar ship.” When a reporter followed up on whether the deployment had gone on too long, Trump said: “No, no, no. Not nearly long enough.”
Exchange Lasted Only Seconds Before Trump Boarded Plane
The White House video shows the full exchange lasted only a few seconds, with Trump turning to board his aircraft immediately after the “not nearly long enough” remark, without elaborating further on the sailors’ conditions or answering additional questions on the topic.
Deployment Has Exceeded 260 Days, Including Record Stretch Without Port Call
The USS Abraham Lincoln left San Diego on Nov. 21, 2025, and was redirected to the Middle East to support U.S. operations against Iran, which began Feb. 28. By mid-August the carrier had logged more than 240 consecutive days at sea without a port call and an overall deployment exceeding 260 days, a length lawmakers have described as unusually demanding by modern Navy standards.
Trump Confirms Replacement Carrier Is Underway
Trump’s comment that the ship was “moving” referred to the USS George Washington, which departed a port visit in Da Nang, Vietnam, on Aug. 5 and is headed to the Middle East to relieve the Lincoln as part of a previously planned carrier rotation.
Hegseth Had Called Conditions “Completely Misrepresented” a Day Earlier
Trump’s remarks came one day after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, speaking to reporters during a stop in Panama, dismissed reports of poor conditions on the Lincoln as “completely misrepresented,” saying “we make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment.”
Blumenthal Letter Cited Water Contamination, Deteriorating Mental Health
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, had sent a letter to Hegseth and acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao days earlier citing “widespread reports of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns, and disruptions in the mail system.” Blumenthal’s letter noted the carrier had gone more than 200 consecutive days without a port call.
Navy Reports Multiple Mental Health Personnel Aboard Ship
A U.S. official said the Lincoln currently has five Navy chaplains, one clinical psychologist, one clinical social worker, three behavioral health technicians and an integrated prevention coordination counselor aboard, and that officials have not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts among the crew.
Trump Administration Has Given No Public Timeline for War’s End
Trump took office for a second term vowing to avoid lengthy military entanglements, and he and his advisers initially said the conflict with Iran would last a matter of weeks after it began. Hostilities have since calmed, though the Navy has maintained a blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, which Hegseth has said the U.S. military can sustain “indefinitely.”
Ansari Has Repeatedly Sought Hegseth’s Impeachment Over the War
Ansari, the first Iranian-American Democrat elected to Congress, introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth in April, formally filed as H.Res. 1177, citing what she described as unauthorized war against Iran, reckless endangerment of servicemembers and related conduct. The resolution remains before the House Judiciary Committee and has not advanced.
Ansari’s Comments Continue Pattern of Sharp Criticism of Trump and War
Saturday’s post continues a consistent pattern for Ansari, who has repeatedly linked the Iran war and its toll on service members directly to calls for accountability against both Trump and Hegseth since introducing her impeachment articles in April. She has previously invoked the 25th Amendment in other posts criticizing the president’s conduct of the war.
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