BS BULLETIN
- Gold Star wife SharrellAnne accused Jim Acosta of exploiting worried Navy families to build a political narrative against Pete Hegseth.
- “He doesn’t give a s**t about these sailors,” she wrote.
Jim Acosta has been hammering the Trump administration over reports of miserable conditions aboard deployed Navy ships, including publishing messages attributed to worried military family members.
Now a Gold Star wife has stepped into the fight — and she didn’t mince words.
SharrellAnne, whose husband is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, responded to Acosta’s latest coverage by making an important distinction: Military families absolutely have a right to worry about their loved ones. They are not, however, members of the military chain of command.
“And Jim Acosta damn well knows that,” she wrote.
She accused Acosta of presenting increasingly dramatic accounts from relatives “as though they represent some authoritative indictment of military leadership,” calling it “a whole lot more like narrative-building than journalism.”
Then came the line that lit up social media: “He doesn’t give a shit about these sailors. They’re useful to the story he wants to tell.”
Her criticism comes amid a real controversy over extended Navy deployments. Sailors and family members have reported problems involving food, sanitation, water, mail and mental-health strain. Stars and Stripes reported that families of USS Abraham Lincoln sailors raised those concerns directly with Navy leaders.
But some of the most explosive claims circulating online have been disputed. Hegseth has said coverage of conditions aboard the Lincoln was “completely misrepresented,” while CENTCOM has pushed back against claims including reports of deaths aboard the carrier.
CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper visited the Lincoln over the weekend and praised its roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines after more than 200 consecutive days at sea.
That’s the distinction SharrellAnne was demanding: Investigate genuine problems and fix them — but don’t turn worried parents and spouses into political weapons.
“If there are legitimate problems, investigate them and fix them,” she wrote. “But military families declaring ‘war’ on military leadership through Jim Acosta is not how any of this works.”
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- Twitchy — Gold Star wife takes Jim Acosta apart over Navy family coverage
- Reuters — Hegseth says reports about poor conditions aboard carrier are misrepresented
- Reuters — CENTCOM commander praises USS Abraham Lincoln crew amid reports about conditions
- Stars and Stripes — USS Abraham Lincoln families press Navy leaders over sailors’ mental health
