‘I’ll never apologize’ — Trump brushes off Iran war’s impact on oil prices and calls aircraft carrier’s 240+ days at sea ‘not nearly long enough’

President Donald Trump on Friday downplayed the toll on American sailors enduring nearly nine months at sea on the USS Abraham Lincoln as concerns escalated about mental health and supply issues aboard the aircraft carrier supporting U.S. operations against Iran .

In a brief exchange with reporters before flying to New York for an event to highlight falling violent crime rates across the U.S., Trump refuted that family members have raised concerns about the deployment’s length and even said that the deployment — which includes a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 days — is “not nearly long enough.” “That ship is moving right now, or very shortly, and it’s being replaced with another very similar ship,” Trump said when asked about the lengthy deployment.

The acting navy secretary, Hung Cao, said the Lincoln “will return home soon” in a social media post on Friday .

Trump strode into office for a second term vowing to avoid lengthy and expensive military entanglements.

And after launching the Iran war, alongside Israel, Trump and his advisers said the conflict would last a matter of weeks.

The war is now more than five months old.

But on Friday, during his crime address in Garden City, New York, he acknowledged that he’s used the U.S. military “a little bit more than I wanted to,” while asserting anew that the U.S. operation against Iran is going well.

He even said, seemingly in jest, that “pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.” “I’ll never apologize,” Trump added about the war and its impact on oil prices.

“I did the right thing.” Democrats demand Pentagon briefing on USS Lincoln Extended deployments of carriers during the Iran conflict have raised concerns about the impact on service members who are away from home for long periods as well as the increasing strain on the ships and their equipment.

Several Democratic lawmakers, including Sens.

Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, are pressing for accountability from the Pentagon over conditions aboard the Lincoln, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said were “completely misrepresented.” Rep.

Jason Crow, D-Colo., who served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division and 75th Ranger Regiment before being elected, took to social media to criticize Trump’s comments, saying on X that “President Trump does not care about our servicemembers or their families.” Top Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have requested a classified briefing on the ship’s food inventory, sanitation issues and healthcare availability, as well as an assessment of how much longer it would be deployed before relief arrives.

Republicans have been less outspoken about the situation on the Lincoln.