Donald Trump: "beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of"

After more than eight months at sea, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln docked in Pattaya, Thailand, with about 5,000 crew members, stirring local concerns about sexually transmitted infections and exploitation in a city known for its commercial sex industry. The ship left San Diego in November and spent 265 straight days deployed. Whistle-blowers and reports described shortages of fresh produce, broken plumbing, scarce toilet paper, and an apparent suicide attempt. Those accounts drew a response from Donald Trump, who praised the vessel’s upkeep and rejected criticism of the deployment’s length. Thai officials acknowledged the difficulty of curbing prostitution, while Pattaya’s mayor predicted short-term economic benefits from sailor spending.