“Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough tore into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying sailors are being treated “like trash” as reports of dire conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln continue to emerge. In an exclusive interview with MS NOW, the wife of one service member said her husband had grown so desperate to get off the ship that he jumped from the aircraft carrier last week in what she described as a suicide attempt.
According to their families, crew members have raised concerns about increasingly difficult conditions aboard the ship, which has broken a modern-day record for consecutive days at sea while assisting the military’s efforts in the war with Iran. Sailors have complained of shortages of fresh food and hygiene supplies, as well as mounting exhaustion, low morale and mental health concerns.
Hegseth dismissed the concerns, saying that reports of conditions on the carrier had been “completely misrepresented.”
But Scarborough was not buying the defense secretary’s story.
“It’s about military readiness,” he said Thursday on “Morning Joe,” adding, “The basics always start with readiness. Are men and women of the United States military militarily ready to go into combat if called upon? And this is the exact opposite of what you do to make sure that they are prepared and ready to go.”
The MS NOW host said he had “never seen anything like this before” and told viewers the situation showcased Hegseth’s lopsided priorities at the Pentagon.
“This is what happens when you have a defense secretary that’s obsessed about the color of people’s skin, whether somebody is a man or a woman, testosterone levels, this obsession over DEI — and that’s all we ever hear about,” he said. “And what we’re not hearing about is, well, the basics.”
Scarborough said the sailors were being “treated like third-class citizens” and “like trash,” adding that Hegseth was “so obsessed over the little things” while allowing readiness to fall “by the wayside.”
“Any other secretary of defense would have been fired by now,” he added. “And I’m not sure why he’s still there.”
You can watch Scarborough’s full comments in the clip at the top of the page.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
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