As reports of the deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Lincoln and other naval vessels have emerged, President Donald Trump’s dismissive attitude toward sailors’ suffering has drawn no shortage of criticism. According to a new analysis by the Washington Post, the commander-in-chief’s lackluster response could have big consequences for the Republicans in the November midterms, threatening their hold on a key House seat.
Per the Post, when the situation aboard the Lincoln was revealed, “Trump had a choice to make: He could attempt to comfort the sailors’ families, who were growing increasingly worried about their loved ones’ well-being, or question the veracity of the reports. The president went with the latter.”
“The Lincoln has been out there for a period of time — a good period of time — but over the years, we’ve had them out there much longer,” Trump said Monday, later calling the reports “fake news.” According to the Post, “The comments echo what Trump said last week, when he again questioned whether the conditions aboard the ship were actually poor and said the sailors, who were deployed as part of the war the president began with Iran nearly six months ago, were out ‘not nearly long enough.’” As the Post notes, these kinds of “dust-ups” have been frequent over the course of Trump’s second term, but they are usually quickly forgotten – lost in a flurry of new controversy.
“But what makes these comments interesting,” notes the Post, “is that Trump’s rhetoric about the Lincoln might be remembered well, at least in one key part of the country. Here is why: One of the most competitive House races is Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District in the southeastern Tidewater region. The district has one of the largest active-duty military populations in the country because of bases in the area, and it’s predominantly Navy. While the Lincoln is based in San Diego, comments about carrier groups and conditions resonate in this part of Virginia in a way that they don’t in, say, Iowa. And the two candidates running in this district are Navy veterans. Democrats very much hope to make the comments an issue, and to make the argument that Republicans aren’t doing enough to look after American sailors.”
“It hits home very much for our district,” Elaine Luria, the Democrat running to oust Representative Jen Kiggans (R-VA), told the Post, asserting that she will “absolutely” be talking about Trump’s comments on the campaign trail, and saying that they emphasize a lack of defense oversight by Kiggans and the GOP-controlled Congress. “I’d be talking about it all day, every day” if she were still in Congress, Luria said. As the Post explains, “The Democrat, who represented the district from 2019 to 2023, lost reelection to Kiggans in 2022. After not running in 2024, she faces a rematch against the Republican.”
For her part, Kiggans offered an evasive response to the story about the USS Lincoln, blaming the media for spreading “misinformation about our great Navy” and “democrat lies.” Luria argues that response was not enough, “and noted that Kiggans received considerable criticism in March when there were concerns about the conditions aboard the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford and Kiggans said, ‘This is not Carnival Cruise, this is the U.S. Navy,’ before acknowledging some of the maintenance concerns.”
“Concern about the war is so much more personal in our district,” Luria told the Post. “Yes, people are fed up with paying high gas prices, but it’s more personal. They’re sending your sons, daughters, husbands, wives, into harm’s way. And they’re not even compassionate about it. So it really shows like a broader carelessness about veterans and service members.”
While John Sitka III, chairman of the Republican Party of Norfolk who served in the Navy for 20 years, was skeptical that Luria’s attacks would land with servicemembers and their families, he did admit that the war clearly “exposes the administration” to criticism, with many voters not anticipating it would last this long. “People are looking at their own economics. I think they would love for [the war] to hurry up and get over,” he said, before urging Trump to “Get it done, but don’t forget we have the local economy to deal with.”