This is how a narrative is built. As Twitchy reported, the wife of a U.S. Navy sailor who allegedly tried to jump overboard somehow came into contact with Natalie Oliverio, a reporter with The Military Times (which is not officially affiliated with the U.S. military). Oliverio published a piece that made it sound like sailors were jumping from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, port and starboard. The ship's deployment was supposed to end in May, and The Military Times made it sound like the extra three months had many sailors attempting suicide.
CNN's Erin Burnett picked up the story and amplified it, interviewing a sailor's wife. "Multiple U.S. sailors have reportedly tried to jump overboard the USS Abraham Lincoln amid poor conditions as the Iran war extends their deployment," Burnett posted to X along with the video clip. How many is "multiple"? The Military Times story gave two anecdotes.
Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao put out a statement indicating that "a small number of mental health cases were treated with no loss of life" during the ship's 266-day deployment. Sounds pretty standard among a crew of 5,000.
The New York Times is reporting on Thursday that the Abraham Lincoln headed home to California.
Breaking News: The U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed for nine months in the Middle East, headed home to California on Thursday, weeks after reports first emerged of tough conditions for sailors on board. Follow live updates. https://t.co/CiFnukp31i
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 20, 2026
A day earlier, The New York Times had put together a video of a conversation with a family member of a sailor stationed on the Abraham Lincoln.
From a New York Times video about the suffering among sailors deployed on the USS Abraham Lincoln. The caption, in case it's too small to read, says, "They didn't sign up to be on a ship in the middle of the ocean." pic.twitter.com/p28FmV1NqP
— Chris Bray (@a_chrisbray) August 20, 2026
To be fair, she follows that up with "no port calls, no feet on the ground." You'll never believe that, in the full video, The Times reports that Erika Vandermeer second-guessed her support for President Trump when the Iran War kicked off.
Recommended
See it for yourself. It's like watching some bizarre sequel to Waiting for Guffman:https://t.co/9UTMMDlUEg
— Chris Bray (@a_chrisbray) August 20, 2026
Right. He just signed up for free college, free healthcare, and 100% disability, but not the kind where you're actually disabled. Just the kind where you get a check every month for 60 years.
— John Freeman (@thejohnfreeman) August 20, 2026
Hey Erika-your son is an adult. Yes,deployments can suck. My husband did 6 of them-that's part of military service. Just bc they didn't get any port calls isn't a reason to trash talk military leadership. If your son can't handle it, then maybe he should seek a new line of work!
— Victoria Manning (@HoneyBadger_USA) August 20, 2026
My father didn’t sign up for treading water for several hours in water littered with burning oil after his ship sunk from a kamikaze attack off of Okinawa. And the only brochure said, “Uncle Sam Wants You.”
— Joshua Allen (@joshallenonline) August 20, 2026
Honestly maybe best to just discharge this kid from the service. Imagine the morale problem having someone like that?
— Midwest State of Mind (@mwstateofmind) August 20, 2026
I'm glad my Dad, who served in the USN, isn't alive to see this🤦🏻♀️
— Lisa (@politeracy) August 20, 2026
I feel FAIRLY confident her son doesn't want her doing this
— Old Phlegmatic Jud (@cra11169) August 20, 2026
My son is a Navy Master Chief has served 29 years my grandson has served in the Navy 6 years. As a Navy mom and grandma my son and grandson would be livid if I spoke like this I would tell her to shut up and back off let her kid grow up what an embarrassment she and her kid are
— westiemom (@SueAlle94017677) August 20, 2026
A Navy ship out on the ocean!?
— MWsAren'tEasy 🏍 🇺🇸 (@RichieMoore4) August 20, 2026
WTH?
You're kidding! No way!
Imagine my surprise when the carrier I was on 4+ years spent over 80% of the time at sea!
NOTE: Don't quote me, but I'm pretty sure the Navy didn't build them to be pier tied show pieces.
Understandably, family members of any U.S. service member deployed would be concerned about them. But for one or two attempted suicides to have blown up into a weeks-long media narrative involving CNN and The New York Times is ridiculous. It's a transparent attempt to reduce morale among the public.
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