Fact Check: Did Trump say 'only suckers and losers would enlist' in the Navy and then complain?
WASHINGTON, DC: Amid controversies surrounding conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, a rumor began circulating on social media claiming that President Donald Trump said only suckers and losers would enlist in the United States Navy and then complain. The claim sparked criticism and questions about its authenticity.
The rumor surfaced as concerns over the aircraft carrier's lengthy deployment and the well-being of its crew continued to draw attention. A screenshot purportedly showing a post from Trump's Truth Social account was widely shared online, prompting some social media users to question whether he had actually made the statement.
Claim: Donald Trump said only suckers and losers would enlist in the Navy
The rumor surfaced in the form of a screenshot claiming to show a post by the president on his official Truth Social handle.
The purported post read, “Only suckers and losers would enlist, go to sea on an aircraft carrier, and then complain and send their family nasty notes about our military. They weren't at sea long enough."
The screenshot also included an overlay text added by a user stating, “not the first time he called them suckered or losers."
The screenshot was shared widely across social media platforms including Facebook, X, and Threads. It garnered millions of views as of this writing and prompted criticism of the president, while some users remained skeptical about its authenticity and called for a fact check.
Fact Check: Donald Trump made no such post
However, the screenshot was fake and fabricated, as Trump did not make such a post on any of his social media handles.
A search for the text on his account yielded no results matching the words shown in the screenshot.
There were also no similar posts on Trump's other social media accounts, such as X.
Additionally, the viral screenshot did not match Trump's actual Truth Social page, which includes an icon signifying the platform's premium service called ‘Truth+.’
To determine whether Trump had made a similar remark outside social media, a search was conducted on Google. However, it returned no credible news media reports containing the purported statement.
Donald Trump dismissed USS Abraham Lincoln concerns
The claim surfaced amid concerns about conditions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which Trump dismissed while saying its lengthy deployment was “not nearly long enough.”
When asked about the conditions on the carrier or the mental health conditions of its crew, Trump rejected the concerns, saying, “No, they’re not,” and confirmed that the ship was set to leave the region and would be replaced by another carrier.
“It’s moving out. Another, very similar, ship,” Trump said.
Trump's remarks came as the carrier's unusually long eight-and-a-half-month deployment at sea drew increasing attention to the mental health issues affecting its crew and concerns voiced by their families.
The viral screenshot appeared in that context, but the purported Truth Social post could not be authenticated. Searches of Trump's social media accounts did not produce a matching post, while searches for credible media reports also did not establish that Trump made the quoted statement.
