Tangle - Challenges aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Starting point is 00:00:00 From executive producer Isaac Saul, this is Tangle. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening. And welcome to the Tangle podcast, a place where you get views from across the political spectrum, some independent thinking, and a little bit of our take. I am your host today, Senior Editor, Will Kayback. It is Wednesday, and I'll admit I'm a little bit bleary-eyed after another night of staying up late to track. midterm primary results. I'll also say that I feel sometimes a little too invested in the outcome of these races, especially the ones that are just coming onto my radar 24 hours before the results

Starting point is 00:00:52 start coming in. But I got to say I also enjoy getting to learn about some of the unique issues and personalities that animate races happening across the country. Last night, I was paying especially close attention to Alaska's primaries where I traveled in May to report on the state's unique election system. And it seems like the Senate race will be particularly interesting and competitive this year based on some of the early results that we've gotten. Today, though, we're going to be talking about the reported challenges aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during its record-setting deployment in the Middle East. It's a story that to me serves as a microcosm of the Iran War itself, and I'll talk a little bit more about why that is later. And then after my take,

Starting point is 00:01:38 we'll answer a timely question from the Tangle community about cross-party voting in primaries. Before we dive in, we have a new YouTube video out today, and it's about one of the most highly requested topics that we've gotten over the past few months. By now, you've probably heard about the controversy over President Trump's renovations to the reflecting pool in the Capitol. But while most news reports have focused on the alleged vandalism

Starting point is 00:02:05 that may or may not have occurred, as well as the administration infighting over the response to the delays in the pool's reconstruction and renovations. There are questions that remain about what exactly has gone wrong throughout this process. So in our latest video, our associate editor, Aidan Gorman, reports from the National Mall and the pool itself and tries to answer that exact question. That's up on our YouTube channel right now, and you can check out a link to it in today's show notes. All right, now I'm going to pass it over to Audrey to get us started on today's topic, and I'll be back in a bit to read my take. Audrey, to you. Thanks, Will. First

Starting point is 00:02:48 up, we have today's quick hits. Number one, Representative Byron Donald's advanced in Florida's Republican governmental gubernatorial primary and will face former Representative David Jolly in the general election. Incumbent Republican Representative Corey Mills lost his primary, and Democratic Socialist Angie Nixon defeated former National Security Council aide Alex Vindman in the Democratic Senate primary in Florida. Separately, former Democratic Representative Mary Peltola and Republican Senator Dan Sullivan advanced in Alaska's all-party Senate primary. At time of recording, the other two candidates who will advance in the top four system are still to be determined. Finally, in California, no winner has been declared in the special election to replace former Democratic Representative

Starting point is 00:03:31 Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April amid sexual misconduct allegations. Number two, a federal judge denied request to delay the planned termination of temporary protected status for Ethiopian nationals, allowing the Trump administration to proceed with ending the protections. Number three, Disney and ABC sued the Federal Communications Commission, alleging First Amendment violations in the agency's decision to launch an investigation into the broadcaster related to concerns about its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Number four, the Department of Defense directed 30 U.S. universities to audit their connections and partnerships with foreign entities identified by the government as risky or hostile.

Starting point is 00:04:12 Number five. President Donald Trump paused the implementation of 50% tariffs on Canadian goods for three days, saying that the countries had reached a deal to potentially avert the new duties. The Navy is facing tough questions about the strain on sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. The aircraft carrier has been at sea more than 260 days without a port call or break. Reports describe low morale and rough conditions on board. Families and sailors say mental health is a growing concern. Now lawmakers are getting involved. Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee,

Starting point is 00:04:56 says he has heard alarming accounts from people on board. On Friday, acting Navy secretary Hong Kao announced that the aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln, CVN-72, is returning to the United States as part of a planned rotation. Cow's announcement follows weeks of reporting on strained conditions aboard the ship, including food and supply shortages, mental health struggles among sailors, and multiple sailors reportedly attempting to jump overboard. Aside from brief stops in Guam in December and Oman in July, the carrier has been operating for 271 days at sea without its crew taking a port call.

Starting point is 00:05:32 The Japan-based USS George Washington, CVN 73, is set to relieve the Lincoln. For more context, the USS Lincoln is a Nimitz-Gexamination. class aircraft carrier crewed by roughly 5,000 service members and based in San Diego. In November 2025, it left port on what was originally planned as a standard deployment in the Pacific. As tensions with Iran heightened in January, the carrier was redirected to the Middle East to support efforts in the region. The Lincoln has remained deployed in the region to assist Operation Epic Fury, and the carrier's strike group has been supplied by the Diego Garcia base 2200 miles away in the Indian Ocean throughout the conflict, after a local Navy logistical

Starting point is 00:06:10 base in Bahrain was damaged. Family members of soldiers have described food shortages and broken showers and toilets contributing to unsanitary conditions on the ship, and the Navy confirmed that one sailor assigned to the Lincoln's air wing went overboard in early August. The sailor was recovered within roughly an hour, and the Navy considered the incident a mental health episode. Commander of the U.S. Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, visited the Lincoln on Saturday, applauding the carrier's officers for stepping up and making mental health and crew resilience a leadership priority. Several congressional Democrats have criticized the carrier's prolonged deployment and the war with Iran in general. Democratic Senator from Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal, said, quote,

Starting point is 00:06:51 these reports warrant immediate attention, but they also raise a broader question, whether the Navy can sustain the operational tempo now being demanded of its carrier force, end quote. U.S. Central Command pushed back on characterizations of poor conditions aboard the ship. saying in a statement that the sailors and marines of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group remain resilient and resolved after over 260 days at sea, 10,000 aircraftsorties, and 1.5 million pounds of ordinance expended. Acting Secretary Cow echoed that message in his Friday statement, saying, quote,

Starting point is 00:07:23 Unfortunately the media are trying to paint our warriors as victims. Not only is that dishonest, but it takes away the focus on the enemy, end quote. Soon, you'll hear from senior editor Will Kayback for his take, after we explore what the right and left are saying about the USS Lincoln's deployment. We'll be right back after this quick break. First up, what the right is saying. Many on the right say conditions aboard the USS Lincoln are not abnormal. Some say the story shows that the military needs more funding to improve readiness.

Starting point is 00:08:10 Others criticize the Democratic response to reports about the ship. In the free press, Elliot Ackerman criticized the cynical coverage of the conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln. The response to recent reports perhaps should be the level of concern this country always gives to the suffering and safety of the volunteers who make up its military, but usually is not. In this case, however, the wall-to-all coverage of the Lincoln and the reported suicide attempt seem to serve a different purpose. Critics of President Donald Trump pointed to the incident as evidence of his mishandling of the war in Iran, a conflict he had said would last weeks but has extended into months with no clear

Starting point is 00:08:45 and in sight. Now the criticism goes that mismanagement is placing the troops under intolerable levels of strain. This is a tidy argument against Trump, but ultimately a cynical one. Sadly, a service member trying to kill himself on deployment is an all too regular occurrence. Each year, we lose 470 to 525 uniformed service members to suicide. That number jumps more than 10fold when you include America's 18 million veterans. This crisis has run straight through George W. Bush, Barack Obama, the first Trump term and Joe Biden. It did not spike with this president. To use the personal crisis of a single sailor as political ammunition

Starting point is 00:09:22 does nothing to help or support our troops. It is vulgar, an adjective that Trump's critics often apply to him. The Wall Street Journal editorial board said the situation reveals a crisis in U.S. naval readiness. Democrats this week are expressing outrage over press reports of low morale and tough conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, the aircraft carrier deployed for 250 days, much of it supporting President Trump's military action in Iran. Some 200 consecutive days at sea is a physical and mental sacrifice. And if Democrats are so concerned, perhaps they could expedite passage of the $17 billion

Starting point is 00:09:55 for U.S. military operational costs that the administration requested. The underlying problem is that the U.S. burns naval power faster than it produces it. A stressed carrier force is assigned that the U.S. doesn't have sufficient naval assets to cover U.S. interests around the globe. It will require sustained resources to expand the fleet with a more diverse mix of ships and to recruit the sailors needed to man them. If Democrats don't want to help, and they probably don't, given their sharp move to the left, this is a worthy priority for Republicans in Congress. In Red State, Terry Christoph offered a reality check on Navy life. Admiral Brad Cooper visited the much-talked about USS Abraham Lincoln, CVN-72, over the weekend.

Starting point is 00:10:37 Meeting with sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier as it comes to. to the end of what he called one of the most consequential deployments of the modern era. They've been kept busy, to be sure, which required its deployment to be extended. And that's where all the non-traversy about the Lincoln began. The carrier has been at sea for just under nine months, and ports of call have been few of late because of the situation with Iran. So of course the sailors and Marines get stir crazy from time to time. Out of the 5,000 crew aboard, some are going to have more serious issues, and some are going to complain to mom that the food isn't like her home cooking.

Starting point is 00:11:09 that's life in the military. Cooper, however, didn't describe a crew in collapse. He described sailors and Marines who have endured an exceptionally demanding deployment, carried out thousands of combat missions, and have every reason to be proud of what they've accomplished. This echoes what acting secretary of the Navy, Hongkow, said on Friday. The real story is that the crew of the Lincoln crushed the mission. Now what the left is saying. The left criticizes the ongoing effects of the Iran war on U.S. soldiers and military families. Some argue that poor ship conditions could imperil effective military operations. Others say the Trump administration has exhibited poor military leadership throughout the war.

Starting point is 00:12:00 In MS Now, retired lieutenant colonel Rachel E. Van Landingham wrote, sailors and their families deserve compassion from Pete Hegsef, not denial. The more this administration denies and deflects, the more the American people should stand up and pay attention because the stakes are enormous. Of course, fighting wars is hard, and those in uniform always will shoulder the most direct impact, but good leaders consider the effect of their decisions on service members and do everything possible to ensure not only adequate defenses from threats, such as missile and drone attacks, but also appropriate logistical support to those in harm's way.

Starting point is 00:12:34 Significant logistical failures aboard the Lincoln and other warships deployed to the Persian Gulf have been reported since the start of this rushed conflict, and despite ample time to fix those failures, such reports continue. It seems reasonable to conclude that reports of our service members' ongoing injuries not only stem from poor initial planning for a rushed war, but also by the administration's operating culture of denying and hiding problems. Gaslighting and blaming the media are hallmarks of Trump and Hegsef, but problems are only resolved when they are acknowledged and dealt with openly. In the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Democratic Representative Derek Jackson of Georgia argued American sailors on USS Abraham Lincoln deserve leadership, not neglect.

Starting point is 00:13:14 I have walked in the steel-toed boots of the young sailor working 12-hour ships on steel decks, and I have stood four-hour watch as an officer making operational calls in high-stress hostile waters. I know what it takes to maintain readiness under pressure. Our sailors are reported to be facing severe mistreatment, escalating burnout, and a toxic, unaddressed crisis of morale. In the military, we preach that people are our greatest asset. But when leadership, especially in Washington, D.C., turns a blind eye to deteriorating morale, those words ring hollow. Moral is not a luxury item. It is an absolute prerequisite for combat

Starting point is 00:13:51 readiness. High operational stress paired with low morale leads directly to severe sleep deprivation, compromised decision-making, and operational errors that put lives in multi-billion dollar assets at risk. Our young sailors do not expect luxury in a combat zone. They expect discipline, clear purpose, and hard work. But they also expect leadership that matches their sacrifice with accountability, dignity, and care. Expecting service members to absorb endless strain without responsive action is not toughness. It is a failure of command. In the nation, G. Teer said, Trump's loose grip on reality could sink the Navy's ships. The roots of the critical situation aboard Lincoln go back to poor military planning by Donald Trump

Starting point is 00:14:30 and Pete Hegeseth in the run-up to the Iran disaster. They had assumed that overwhelming U.S. air power would lead to a quick victory, comparable to the coup the U.S. was able to pull off in Venezuela in January. This scenario radically underestimated the resilience and capability of the Iranian government. Iran's attacks on military bases meant the sailors on the Lincoln had to receive food from farther away and had no easy access to shore leave. While the supply chain issue has been slowly mended, for a time it meant a rapid deterioration in living conditions. The crisis on the Lincoln is one of Trump's own making. It's a result of his deeply irresponsible handling of military affairs. Trump is alarmingly detached from reality.

Starting point is 00:15:11 He has no concern for the flesh and blood sailors who serve in his Navy, much less the countless civilians killed in his imperialist wars. His main concern is visual display, having cool World War II-style aircraft carriers that can make aesthetically pleasing explosions. That's it for what the right and left are saying. Now I'll pass it back to Will for his take. Thanks, Audrey. All right, here's my take.

Starting point is 00:15:46 I never served in the military, so I can't claim to know the experience of the crew aboard the USS, Abraham Lincoln, or really any service member. But the reports from friends and family of crew members in recent weeks suggest an environment strained by deteriorating morale amid a protracted, open-ended conflict. Obviously, military service isn't supposed to be easy, and these stories are just a few on a ship of 5,000 people, but they're also a reminder of the sacrifice that service members make. But zooming out, the reports of the challenges aboard the ship have unsurprisingly led commentators to amplify the aspects of the story that confirm their priors, while brushing

Starting point is 00:16:32 off the ones that don't fit their narrative. The Wall Street Journal editorial board argues that the ship's real problem is a lack of naval preparedness that predates the conflict and illustrates the need for more congressional funding. Others like Elliot Ackerman in the free press draw on their own service to note that mental health struggles, hygiene issues, food shortages, and other discomforts are a fact of life during deployments, pushing back on the media's framing of them as challenges somehow unique to the Iran war. On the war-critical side, writers like retired lieutenant colonel Rachel E. Van Landenheim criticized the Trump administration's dismissal of all reports about the conditions on the ship as callous and say that military leaders are failing

Starting point is 00:17:18 the crew. The nations, Jeet here and others blame the ship's issues on President Trump's decision to wage a war in the first place, one that's depleting military resources without a clear plan for success. And some conservative writers have even made similar points. I don't think any of these perspectives are wrong. Extended aircraft carrier deployments have become more common in recent years, putting a strain on the normal ship rotation schedule and impacting naval readiness well before the Iran war began. Would more money fix that? Well, I'd like to see the Pentagon pass an audit first to better understand why roughly $1 trillion in annual military spending still isn't enough. But regardless, the Navy clearly has had issues that predate this current conflict.

Starting point is 00:18:07 Similarly, rough conditions and mental health challenges are unfortunately a part of life on the ships. As Ackerman wrote in the free press, quote, suicide in the ranks and the strained deployments place on service members and their families have proven endemic for decades under both Republican and Democratic administrations. I also asked my uncle, who served two six months deployments on aircraft carriers as a naval flight officer during Operation Iraqi Freedom, about his experience, and he described the ship as a, quote, floating prison that can be, quote, torturous after months at sea. Of course, the war's critics are also right that some aspects of the Lincoln's deployment are unusual and reflect poorly on the Trump administration. While other carriers

Starting point is 00:18:55 have deployed for longer, the Lincoln set a record for consecutive days at sea. It's been sailing for over 270 days without a port call to disembark and recharge, which would typically occur every 30 to 45 five days. And much of that time was spending combat operations, adding stress and danger to the already grueling stretch that they've been on. As an aside, my uncle also told me that combat periods were, quote, 10 times more intense on board and said he still has nightmares about his experiences during those times. The challenges on the Lincoln may not have been as acute if the U.S. military's normal supply hub in Bahrain hadn't been effectively neutralized by Iran early on in the conflict. Since the only other proximate port on the Gulf of Oman is too close to Iran,

Starting point is 00:19:43 the ship has been relying on resupplies from the distant island of Diego Garcia, making the transport of goods like fresh fruit and vegetables untenable. Recalling all of the Trump administration's talk of rapid, dominant victory in the war's early days, it's easy to see the conditions aboard the Lincoln as a casualty of hubris. The administration just seemed unprepared for the possibility that Iran could execute such a damaging opening salvo. Now, even acknowledging the Navy's pre-existing issues and that many of the most emotionally resonant elements of this story are also endemic to any aircraft carrier deployment, I still find the ship's issues uniquely worrisome against the backdrop of our decisions in

Starting point is 00:20:28 Iran. First, aircraft carrier rotation cycles are already out of sync, and this extended deployment will exacerbate the situation. Ideally, the Navy wants its 11 nuclear-powered carriers to operate on a 36-month cycle that includes an eight-month deployment. After its deployment, the ship returns home for maintenance, another takes its place, and the others progress through training and preparation phases.

Starting point is 00:20:53 As I mentioned earlier, deployments that creep over the eight-month window are becoming more and more common, meaning more stress on sailors and supplies. But it also means that ships will now overlap in their maintenance and reset periods. Retired Vice Admiral Robert B. Murrett, whose 34 years of service included multiple aircraft carrier deployments,

Starting point is 00:21:13 told me that, quote, anytime you deploy carriers, as we did in Operation Desert Storm, with three carriers in the Red Sea and three carriers in the Persian Gulf, it takes a couple of years to actually get back to the point where you'd like to be. Second, and relatedly, the U.S. has now had to pull the USS George Washington out of the Pacific to replace the Lincoln. A carrier strike group is the centerpiece of any modern naval presence, and moving one is like

Starting point is 00:21:40 moving a military base. Former military leaders and foreign policy analysts have both highlighted the costs of redirecting the Washington, as we're doing now. After its time in the Middle East, the Washington will itself need to return home, potentially leaving the U.S. with a reduced presence in the Pacific for over a year. When a similar drop-off occurred during the Biden administration, China mobilized a carrier and other ships to the Philippines Sea and a show of force against Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Now China will have a similar opportunity, and that's at a time when our interests in the Middle East are in tension

Starting point is 00:22:17 and when U.S. relationships with our allies in the Pacific are being tested. Third, and most concerning to me, is the message that this incident sends about the future of the Iran War. If you remember some of my prior writing, I haven't held back in my thoughts about the conflict. I think it was a mistake to start the war, and it's turned out a lot worse than I even expected. Our missile stockpiles are already reportedly depleted,

Starting point is 00:22:43 and now the war's impact on troop morale is spilling out into the public. As recent attacks don't seem to have affected Iran's posture, I'm really starting to wonder, can we keep this up for much longer? The 60-day deadline for a peace deal expired on Monday, and the prospect of any kind of negotiated resolution feels as remote as ever. We can keep up airstrikes and maintain a stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz, but again, for how long and to what end? Something that's increasingly distressing to me is that the administration is hardly attempting

Starting point is 00:23:16 to define what victory even looks like anymore. Now, I am grateful to the crew of the Lincoln who have served the country in trying conditions for these past five months. but is the military prepared logistically, monetarily, emotionally, to ask the crew of the USS Washington to do it for five months more or beyond? I really doubt it. We'll be right back after this quick break. All right, that is it for my take.

Starting point is 00:23:58 Now we're going to get into today's question from the Tangle community. This one comes from Sue in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who writes, I moved to Michigan from Connecticut three years ago and was shocked to discover that one need not be a registered party member to vote in the primary. All voters are eligible. One is given a ballot with two columns, Democrats on the left and Republicans on the right. One can only vote in one column, but the choice is theirs. Abdul El-Said's victory in Michigan is framed as a referendum on the direction of the Democratic Party,

Starting point is 00:24:30 but is that accurate? I've heard that many Republicans voted in the Democratic primary because they felt that Mike Rogers could more easily prevail against El-Syid. Here's our response. For background, Abdul El-Said defeated Haley Stevens in the Michigan Democratic Senate primary on August 4th by 15,713 votes are just over 1%. Michigan, along with 18 other states, has some kind of an open primary, meaning Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters can vote in the National Party primary of their choice. However, voters aren't required to list their party affiliation when they vote, so we don't actually have official data on how many crossover voters,

Starting point is 00:25:12 Republicans voting in Democratic primaries or vice versa, actually participated in this Democratic primary. In theory, Republican voters could have significantly impacted Michigan's Democratic primary, but they also had several reasons to vote in their own party's elections instead. The state may not have had a competitive Republican Senate primary, but it did have a contested gubernatorial primary and several contested House primaries. In its final poll prior to the election,

Starting point is 00:25:41 Emerson found that of 700 likely Democratic primary voters, 13 or 1.8% responded said they were Republicans, and 21, 3.1%, said they voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Now, we can't extrapolate too much from such a limited sample, but these numbers show that at least a small portion, of crossover voters likely participated in that primary. We also don't know how all these possible Republican participants voted.

Starting point is 00:26:10 Some might have voted for El-Said thinking he'd be a weaker general election candidate, but others could have voted for Stevens to minimize the odds of a further left candidate like El-Said going to the Senate. While it is certainly possible that enough Republicans voted for El-Said to tip the results, a lot of variables prevent us from knowing for sure. All right, now I'm going to pass it. It's over to Audrey to take us home in today's edition. Audrey, over to you.

Starting point is 00:26:40 Thanks, Will. To wrap things up, we have today's Have a Nice Day story. Aenoa, the world's smallest buffalo species, is endangered, with fewer than 2,500 estimated to be alive in the wild. However, a conservation program in Europe is aiming to stabilize the population, and in July, that effort got a small but important boost when an Anoa calf was born at Chester Zoo in England. The calf, Mentari, weighed approximately 15 pounds and stood about 20 inches tall at birth.

Starting point is 00:27:08 She is expected to grow to weigh 330 to 660 pounds and stand approximately 35 inches at the shoulder as an adult. While the conservation program has a long way to go, the zoo said that each new birth is a key step in the process of building a healthy, genetically diverse population and giving this remarkable species the best possible chance of survival. IFL science has the story and you can find a link in the show notes. That's it for today's podcast. If you would like to support our work, head over to retangle.com, where you can buy a newsletter subscription, a podcast subscription,

Starting point is 00:27:40 or a bundle membership that gets you a discount on both. We will be right back here tomorrow, but in the meantime, this has been editor Audrey Moorhead. On behalf of Isaac and everyone else, have a nice day and peace. Our executive editor and founder is me. Isaac Saul, and our executive producer is John Wall. Today's episode was edited and engineered by Dewey Tom. Our editorial staff is led by managing editor Ari Weitzman with senior editor Will Kovac and associate editors Audrey Moorhead, Lindsay Canuth, and Bailey Saul.

Starting point is 00:28:10 Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75. To run more about Tangle and to sign up for a membership, please visit our website at reetangle.com.

Tangle - Challenges aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

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