Author Joyce Carol Oates Calls It Hard To ‘Feel Sympathy’ for Suicidal USS Lincoln Sailors Who Helped Elect Trump

An acclaimed American author, Joyce Carol Oates, is facing an online backlash after suggesting that sailors aboard a troubled American aircraft carrier do not deserve sympathy if they voted for President Trump. The Navy Times reported this week that multiple sailors have tried to go overboard or considered self-harm during an extended deployment due to the war against Iran. The report has fueled concerns about conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln, where the nearly 5,000 sailors and Marines have reportedly grappled with food and water shortages and long workdays during a record-long deployment. The crew have not been ashore since before Christmas.Navy officials have denied that there has been an uptick in suicide attempts or ideations on the ship. Ms. Oates shared a post about the conditions on the Lincoln on X on Wednesday, writing, “Military personnel usually vote strongly Republican so it is hard to feel sympathy for them since they did help to elect the person now demonstrating such poor judgment & indifference to them.”The post drew heavy criticism from both liberal and conservative commentators.A liberal writer, Charlotte Clymer, commented on Ms. Oates’ post: “You don’t know a [expletive] thing about these service members. You don’t know their politics or how long they were on contract. You just assumed. That sucks, and it’s especially disappointing coming from a thinker of your caliber.”Conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg responded, “Gross.”“This is such a monstrous thing to say on so many levels,” another user said.A senior political reporter at CNN, Aaaron Blake, shared the comment and wrote, “This is disgusting. Don’t do this.”As of Friday morning, the 88-year-old author had not publicly responded to the criticism of her post, but she has been active on the platform. On Thursday, she wrote, “A few months ago it looked as if UFO’s were to be floated (sic) as a deflection from the Epstein file but that novel idea seems to have faded quietly; now, the deflections from Epstein are just the run-of-the-mill scandals like T***p-in-a-food-cart & US navy demoralized & dehydrated.”In a separate post, she suggested that the war in Iran is a “vanity project” and an attempt to “deflect from the scandal of the Epstein file which was more of a threat to him than it is now.”Ms. Oates has responded to some of the criticism, saying that she has “much sympathy” for service members who did not support Mr. Trump but who are “trapped by his ugly policies.”“But for those who’d support him believing that he would hurt/harm others, not themselves – why? ‘Elections have consequences,’” she said. Responding to another critic, the author maintained that “most sources do state that over all, US service members vote Republican.” A Rasmussen Reports survey of current and former members of the military found that 64 percent of male respondents and 51 percent of female respondents said they voted for Mr. Trump in the 2024 election. The survey, which was released in March 2026, also found that 57 percent “likely U.S. Military Voters” would vote for Republican congressional candidates, while 35 percent said they would vote for Democratic candidates.This article has been updated to include new comments from Ms. Oates.

Author Joyce Carol Oates Calls It Hard To ‘Feel Sympathy’ for Suicidal USS Lincoln Sailors Who Helped Elect Trump

Author Joyce Carol Oates Calls It Hard To ‘Feel Sympathy’ for Suicidal USS Lincoln Sailors Who Helped Elect Trump

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