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.”



Doesn’t matter if it’s made an official holiday by the government. The people of this nation (world) are gonna make it a national (international) holiday by sheer force of will.
I’ll celebrate it like Christmas every year. I’ll call in sick every year on the day if I have to.