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戴庆成：香港今年夏季有点反常

2026年8月17日 05:00 / 联合早报

香港今年7月几乎每天都下起滂沱大雨，天文台一个月内发出25次暴雨警告。图为7月26日，香港市民冒着台风红霞带来的强风暴雨过马路。 （路透社）

欧洲最近几年天气反常，今年夏天多国的气温更飙破历史纪录，民众被迫疯抢移动式空调与风扇，引起远在亚洲的不少港人嘲笑。让人意想不到的是，香港过去一个多月也遭遇极端天气的困扰。

香港位于亚热带地区，每年一到夏季就会出现雷暴及台风，带来强烈降雨，不过频率还不算太高。但在今年7月，香港几乎每天都下起滂沱大雨，天文台在一个月内足足发出了25次暴雨警告。

数据显示，香港天文台总部上个月录得790.3毫米的总雨量，较正常值高逾一倍，是有纪录以来7月份第二高；同一时期，香港的总日照为122.2个小时，较正常值减少了近四成，为有纪录以来阳光最少的7月。连日暴雨给本地农户带来沉重打击，损失惨重。

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Jared Kushner met with Hamas leaders in Egypt to discuss Gaza peace road map

August 16, 2026 / 4:24 PM EDT / CBS News

Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and negotiator on Middle East affairs, met with Hamas leaders in Egypt on Sunday to discuss the latest U.S.-backed peace deal that seeks the group’s disarmament and a road map for the transfer of power to a new government, according to a source with knowledge of the meeting.

The meeting was aimed at translating the plan negotiated by Mr. Trump’s international Board of Peace into concrete, verifiable steps, the source told CBS News, including maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza, beginning to transfer all governing responsibilities to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, ensuring Hamas has no future governing role in Gaza, facilitating Israeli withdrawals and deploying an international stabilizing force to the region, among other things.

The rare meeting in Egypt with Hamas’ Khalil al-Hayya was also confirmed to the Associated Press by a regional official and a Hamas official, both speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.

Last month, Mr. Trump said that the Board of Peace “reached a HISTORIC agreement for the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza.”

However, in a rare public show of defiance against the Trump administration, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week rejected the peace plan and vowed there would be no military withdrawal until Hamas is “genuinely” disarmed.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi discusses developments in the Middle East with Jared Kushner, adviser and son-in-law to President Trump in El Alamein, Egypt, on Aug. 16, 2026. Egyptian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images

Kushner, who met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi earlier on Sunday to discuss the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, is set to travel to Israel on Monday, where he is expected to meet with Netanyahu.

A source with knowledge of the meeting said that in order to move forward, there can be no ambiguity: Hamas must relinquish governing authority and all weapons and military infrastructure, while Gaza can never be a source of terror for Israel.

Ahead of Monday’s meeting, several regional powers including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates issued a statement condemning Israel’s rejection of the road map, saying that “Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza.” Other signers included Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia and the ceasefire mediators.

blob:https://www.cbsnews.com/cbd6d935-bc1b-4be9-9cbd-1d1680ec0cc2

The statement by foreign ministers also called on the Board of Peace and the U.S. to take “immediate and concrete measures” to keep any party from obstructing the plan’s implementation.

Under the 15-point U.S.-backed plan, Israeli forces would withdraw from parts of Gaza as “disarmament is completed,” Mr. Trump said in a Truth Social post on July 30, with an International Stabilization Force and a new Palestinian police force responsible for security.

The conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out with Hamas’ terrorist attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Since a current ceasefire agreement went into effect in October 2025, Israel has continued firing on Gaza and killed more than 1,200 people, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry.

姜贵瑛：房价压不住 李在明“蜜月期”告终？

2026年8月17日 05:01 / 联合早报 姜贵瑛首尔通讯员

韩国当前房地产问题的核心包括房价居高不下、泡沫严重及政策调控的两难困境，能否解决这些问题已成为年轻一代衡量政府施政能力的重要标尺。图为首都首尔的公寓楼群。 （路透社）

韩国总统李在明上台一年两个多月，政府已推出五轮房地产政策，从贷款、税收到交易监管层层加码，房价却未如预期降温，市场反而陷入“持有难、卖出难、买入更难”的僵局。楼市政策失灵正从经济问题转为政治压力，总统和执政党支持率双双下滑，拉响李在明执政“蜜月期”结束的警报。

韩国盖洛普8月14日公布的调查显示，李在明施政正面评价骤降七个百分点至44%，负面评价升至46%，是就任以来首次出现“死亡交叉”。

在负面评价原因当中，房地产政策以30%高居首位。民调机构Realmeter的调查也显示，李在明的支持率降至43.3%，连续四周下跌，降至就任以来最低水平。

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Blanche declines to pledge independence from the White House

2026-08-16T20:34:09.938Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/16/politics/todd-blanche-trump-administration

Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday declined to commit to always acting independently of the White House, a concern among critics who worry the Justice Department is carrying out President Donald Trump’s political agenda.

“No, I’m not going to pledge that, and no attorney general should ever pledge that,” Blanche told NBC’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press,” going on to say Trump has not and never will ask him to cross a legal or ethical line and that the Justice Department will “prosecute without fear or any sort of favor.”

Blanche — Trump’s former personal defense attorney who was confirmed by the Senate last weekend after serving in an acting capacity since April — also suggested he’d take the president’s views into account in individual prosecution decisions.

“Every American has a voice in prosecutions… So whether President Trump should have a, quote, voice, it depends, but yes,” Blanche said when pressed on whether Trump should ever have such a say in light of the president’s call to revisit the Reflecting Pool vandalism case that the US Attorney for the District of Columbia recently dismissed.

“Will I take the president of the United States’ view on something into consideration? Yes, of course. And I hope every attorney general in history would not answer that question differently,” Blanche added.

The Justice Department has faced accusations of political dealing on Trump’s behalf amid indictments or attempted indictments against some of the president’s perceived political enemies, such as former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

But during the “Meet the Press” interview and a separate interview with “Fox News Sunday,” Blanche insisted he has the ability to disagree with Trump.

“The president loves disagreement,” Blanche told Fox.

“He wants to get counsel from all of his leaders that is just that – counsel. It doesn’t mean you’re saying yes to him,” Blanche said, adding that Trump would “expect” him to tell him his honest feelings, even if the attorney general disagreed.

“There’s that misnomer about President Trump – which is that he wakes up in the morning, calls me up, and says ‘Todd, go prosecute this.’ That’s absolutely not the case.”

Blanche on NBC declined to say whether DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro should revisit the Reflecting Pool case, as Trump has called for, but said he supports her and so does Trump, who had considered firing her.

“I absolutely support US attorney Pirro, as does President Trump. Now that’s different than whether the president is extraordinarily frustrated at what happened in that case, and I don’t in any way fault him for that.”

But Blanche also defended Pirro, saying she’s “doing a phenomenal job,” adding, “and I think judging her on a single case because of the evidence that we had is not fair.”

On an issue that Trump has made a focus of his second term — election integrity — Blanche told NBC the administration may ask the Supreme Court to decide on its efforts to obtain voter rolls from states ahead of this year’s midterms.

Trump has demanded states turn over unredacted voter rolls and other sensitive information — part of the administration’s efforts to insert itself in federal elections that was fueled by Trump’s longstanding and baseless assertions that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

The administration has sued roughly 30 states that have refused to open their voter rolls to administration scrutiny, but has frequently lost in court.

Asked whether he would appeal those court losses to the Supreme Court, Blanche said it was a “possibility.”

“Absolutely, it’s a possibility,” Blanche told Welker.

“Election integrity is something that President Trump ran on, and the American people elected him. It’s something that every American should care about,” the attorney general added.

Blanche reiterated that Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund — which had threatened to derail his confirmation — is “dead,” but added that there remain processes in place for individuals who think they were wronged by the government to seek compensation, declining to guarantee that wouldn’t include January 6, 2021, rioters.

“Well, anybody can file a claim against the federal government, not just anybody associated with January 6,” Blanche said.

“I’m not going to sit here and say on a news program whether a litigation that may or may not happen will result in money,” he added.

“I can’t do that. So, what I will say is that there’s a process in place for decades where somebody that believes they’ve been wronged, or a tort’s been committed against them by the federal government, can seek redress.”

The Justice Department formally rescinded the “anti-weaponization” fund that would have benefitted those who claimed they were mistreated by the federal government after it threatened to imperil Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general.

Trump orders scale-back of military exercises with South Korea after refusal to help with Iran’s denuclearization

August 16, 2026 / 7:09 PM EDT / CBS/AP

President Trump announced Sunday that he has ordered the Pentagon to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea, saying that the country recently declined to join the U.S. effort to denuclearize Iran.

Mr. Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the exercises are costly and they “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea, which has been “unthreatening and respectful” as long as he has been president.

“Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea,” Mr. Trump said.

The president said “it is too late to cancel” the joint military exercises, adding that he ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” them.

Mr. Trump also said that he “recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” and the country declined.

However, he said his decision to reduce military partnership with South Korea is “somewhat unrelated.”

The 11 days of exercises involving 18,000 South Korean soldiers were designed to beef up readiness against North Korean threats.

North Korea on Friday threatened unspecified stern steps against the U.S. and South Korea, describing their military drills as a “a rehearsal for an aggressive war” that are triggering greater instability in the region.

The warning was typical of the harsh rhetoric that North Korea often deploys ahead of major U.S.-South Korean military exercises. Experts say North Korea has often used its rivals’ drills as a pretext to ramp up testing activities to expand its weapons arsenal and promote public support for leader Kim Jong Un.

U.S. and South Korean forces were expected to practice joint operations in complex scenarios, including a live-fire exercise to test joint precision targeting and maneuver, a wet gap crossing, and distribution of prepositioned military equipment, according to the U.S. military.

The U.S. military has said the exercise “reinforces the role of the alliance as the linchpin for regional peace and security” and reaffirms “the ironclad commitment between the United States and the Republic of Korea to defend their homelands.”

Mr. Trump met with the reclusive North Korean leader three times during his first term to discuss the country’s nuclear program, most recently in 2019. “I believe North Korea has tremendous potential,” Mr. Trump said at the time.

Since returning to office, Mr. Trump has expressed interest in continuing those discussions.

His announcement came a day after he posted a photo of himself standing next to North Korea’s Kim, writing that the two leaders get along great “despite the unfriendly look on this particular picture.”

This is not the first time that Mr. Trump has sought to end the exercises. During his first term, he also issued a surprise announcement that called the war games “provocative.”

“We will be stopping the war games, which will save us a tremendous amount of money, unless and until we see the future negotiation is not going along like it should,” Mr. Trump told reporters after his 2018 meeting with Kim Jong Un in Singapore.

称与金正恩关系好 特朗普下令缩减美韩军演

2026年8月17日 06:54 / 联合早报

3月14日，在韩国涟川的朝韩非军事区附近举行美韩联合渡河演习。 （路透社）

美国总统特朗普说，他对美国参与亲密盟友韩国的联合军事演习“感到不满”，并正在缩减旨在威慑朝鲜的演习规模。

特朗普星期天（8月16日）在社交媒体Truth Social上发文说：“基于我与朝鲜领导人金正恩的良好关系，我对美国很久以前就同意参与韩国的联合军演感到不满。”

他继续说道：“这些演习不仅耗资巨大，而且其中大部分费用由美国承担，而且还向一个自特朗普担任总统以来一直对美国不构成威胁、保持尊重态度的国家，发出完全不恰当且充满敌意的信号。”

特朗普补充说，取消演习为时已晚，因此他已命令战争部长赫格塞斯“大幅缩减”演习规模。

他也指出，他最近要求韩国与美国一起推动“伊朗无核化”，但遭到韩方拒绝。

为期11天的“乙支自由护盾”（Ulchi Freedom Shield）联合军演于星期一（17日）开始，是韩国军队及美国盟友夏季的例行训练，旨在增强防御拥有核武器的朝鲜的能力。

朝鲜一直对此类演习感到愤怒，并谴责这是为入侵朝鲜的预演。

特朗普在第一任总统任期内曾与金正恩举行历史性的直接会谈，但最终未能解决朝鲜的核武器计划。他上一次与金正恩会面是在2019年。

上周，美韩联合司令部发言人唐纳德说，这次演习将模拟与在俄乌战争中身经百战的朝鲜军队作战。

他说，这次演习将动用1万8000名韩国士兵，以及驻韩美军2万8500名士兵，重点演练无人机作战、GPS干扰以及网络攻击等技能。

韩国总统李在明自去年6月上任以来，立场与鹰派前任截然不同，他向平壤提出无条件对话的提议，但朝鲜领导层至今仍未回应李在明的多次提议。

1950年至1953年由朝鲜发动的战争以停战协定而非和平条约结束，因此朝韩两国在技术上仍处于战争状态。

Tommy John, MLB All-Star pitcher who had a surgery named after him, dies at 83

August 16, 2026 / 3:53 PM EDT / CBS News

By Lucia I Suarez Sang Associate Managing Editor

Thomas “Tommy” John, a four-time MLB All-Star who won 288 career games over 26 years in professional baseball, has died, his agent confirmed to CBS News. He was 83.

John died at his home in Florida on Saturday, surrounded by his wife, Cheryl, and other family members, his agent Mike Maguire said in a statement.

His biggest legacy to the game came in 1974 when he suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament, which could have ended his career. Instead, John underwent an experimental elbow reconstruction procedure by Dr. Frank Jobe, which is now known as the “Tommy John surgery.” The procedure has gone on to save the pitching arms of thousands of pitchers since it was first performed more than 50 years ago.

After his surgery, John went on to win 164 more games, finishing his career with 288 victories, more than 2,200 strikeouts and a 3.34 ERA before retiring in 1989.

Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, John signed with the Cleveland Indians, now the Cleveland Guardians, at the age of 18 after impressing the team with his curveball. After three seasons in the minor leagues, he was called up to the majors for the first time in 1963. From there, he went on to play for the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels), Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees.

John was a four-time All-Star, earning selections in 1968, 1978, 1979 and 1989.

Tommy John poses for a circa 1970s publicity photo for the Los Angeles Dodgers. MLB via Getty Images

Just days before his passing, John penned an emotional farewell letter to fans that was shared by the Yankees during the 78th Old-Timers’ Day earlier this month. The team noted he was suffering from unspecified “health issues.”

In the letter, he thanked his former team for the opportunity to “say goodbye to everyone, along with all the friends and fans who followed me throughout my 26-year-career.”

“Thanks to Dr. Jobe, who saved my arm & made it possible for me to continue pitching,” John wrote in his letter. “That surgery has since gone on to save the careers of countless pitchers, including many of the very best in the game today.

“Thank you to all the fans who supported me and my teammates for 26 years. I will never forget you.”

On this 78th Old-Timers’ Day, Tommy John shares a message to his fans, former teammates, and the Yankees organization as he battles health issues from his home in Bradenton, Florida. pic.twitter.com/3lKUWHoaw0

>

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 8, 2026

“We are saddened to hear the news of Tommy John’s passing today,” said Stan Kasten, president & CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers, in a statement on Sunday. “Tommy was an exceptional pitcher throughout his career in Major League Baseball, and his courageous role in becoming the first to have surgery that would go on to bear his name can’t be overstated. His impact both on and off the field has been felt by ballplayers of all ages and will be for generations to come.”

Transcript: Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Aug. 16, 2026

2026-08-16T12:14:00-0400 / CBS News

The following is the transcript of an interview with Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb, a Democrat, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Aug. 16, 2026.

ED O’KEEFE: Welcome back to Face the Nation. We turn now to Pennsylvania State Representative Chris Rabb. He’s the Democratic Party’s nominee in the third district of Pennsylvania. That includes parts of Philadelphia. He is also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Representative, you’re not Congressman yet, but Representative, thank you for being here this morning. We appreciate it.

STATE REPRESENTATIVE CHRIS RABB: Nope.

ED O’KEEFE: So I’m curious–

REP. RABB: –My pleasure.

ED O’KEEFE: –and part of the reason why we wanted to have someone like you here, given that you are the Democratic nominee, but also a member of the DSA, what is a voter getting from a Democrat and a member of the DSA like you that they aren’t necessarily getting from a Democrat like Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who we had on earlier?

REP. RABB: That’s a great question. I listened to that segment, and it seems like we have a lot in common. We’re against corruption. We want to fight for working people. We want- we believe that health care is a human right. These are things that we want- increased wages. I support a living wage for all. So I think we have a lot more in common than people would think.

ED O’KEEFE: But when he says that socialism is a failed experiment, what’s your response to that?

REP. RABB: Well, I imagine he supports Social Security. In a purely capitalistic free market system, we would have no Social Security. We would have no Medicare. We would have no Medicaid. We would have no public education. We would have no interstate highway system. We would not have firefighters. These things are things that are brought to us by different- different views that have molded us into the nation we are today. It’s not one thing. This is not a purely capitalistic society. There is capitalism in China, in Finland, everywhere. Like this is something that we have to understand is a mixture, and it is an evolution. Pure capitalism has never worked. Communism is not something that we’ve seen effectively work. What are we doing to make sure that we are moving in the right direction, though? That we are transforming this nation so that it can take care of everyone. How is it that we have our first trillionaire and we still have veterans who are unhoused?

ED O’KEEFE: You know, our news poll out this morning shows that most Democrats have a positive view of socialism, but among all Americans overall, just 35% do. You’ve- you’ve- you’ve you’ve made the argument here so far, but I’m curious: what do you do to try to win over skeptics, the two-thirds of the country who doesn’t think this is a good idea?

REP. RABB: Well, I wasn’t running for socialism. I was running for the people of the third congressional district who want a fighter, and that’s something that is more important than the labels that are used in polls because the poll didn’t define socialism. The poll didn’t define capitalism. The poll didn’t define free market system or free enterprise. It didn’t do those. It polled on how people responded to labels that have been put into the ether without any context, historical, any analysis, and I think once you define these things, people can make more informed decisions.

ED O’KEEFE: You are running in what is the most Democratic district in America, like 40- plus 40% Democratic advantage, so it’s- it’s perhaps understandable, or that helps explain how a socialist-backed candidate can emerge. But there are others in the Democratic Party writ large–

REP. RABB: –No, I have to push back, Ed.

ED O’KEEFE: Why is that?

REP. RABB: I got to push back. You can’t conflate Democratic performance index with people who support a democratic socialist. I ran for months long before anyone mentioned that I was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. I didn’t run for socialism. I ran for the people. Just because people are more likely to vote for Democrats does not mean that they are inherently more inclined to support this ideology or the other. It just showed that in my district, in my race for the Democratic primary, that I came out 14 points ahead in a four-person race because I was a fighter and I talked about issues that mattered. And socialism did not come up.

ED O’KEEFE: Okay, and actually, our poll this morning shows that Democratic voters overall are looking for fighters or people who are certainly promising to do so. I do want to play, however, something that former ambassador, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said this morning on Sunday Morning in conversation with our colleague Robert Costa regarding the progressive versus rest of the party sort of split or discussion that y’all are having. Take a listen to what he said.

[START SOUND ON TAPE]

RAHM EMANUEL, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR: This again, I’m about flipping red districts to blue. I’m not about taking blue districts and making them midnight blue. You want to see a raise in the minimum wage? Winning over Democratic districts is not the way to get it there. We’ve got to win Republican districts.

[END SOUND ON TAPE]

ED O’KEEFE

What’s your response to the mayor’s strategic argument there?

REP. RABB: I think listening to folks who have been institutionalists and corporate Dems is probably the wrong thing to do. When what your own poll shows is that there’s an exhaustion, there is anger at centrists and institutionalists, and this anti-establishment moment, means that we want bold things that are not left or right, but what are the things that are going to move people forward. And hey, take me to Kentucky. I think I can make that case pretty strongly. And as someone who is five generations in Kentucky, I think this is something that transcends blue districts.

ED O’KEEFE: Okay, on the- on the issue of institutionalists in the party, I’m curious, are you someone who would vote for Hakeem Jeffries to be speaker, should Democrats take majority next January?

REP. RABB: Sorry about that. He- he hasn’t asked me, but I can tell you this, he’s not going to run unless we secure the- the new majority, which is what I’m focusing on. I’m focusing on making sure we have good progressive candidates who are winning in these primaries and who will win on November 3. And when we get a new Democratic majority. I would love to have that conversation with them, person to person. We have not yet met.

ED O’KEEFE: Okay. Now, look, I know you’re a Democratic candidate for Congress. You are, however, a member of the DSA, and there are opponents of that movement who point to the failed socialist governments in Latin America as proof that socialists don’t always work. And the DSA, just in the last few days, put out a statement commemorating the 100th birthday of Fidel Castro, which says in part he was an organizer, a fighter, and endures as a stalwart symbol of anti-imperialist struggle and self-determination for the Global South. Do you agree with that sentiment, and- and does it concern you that this type of celebration of Fidel Castro is what might validate people’s concerns with the DSA?

REP. RABB: I am not concerned with how people construe this organization. I am interested in finding what we have in common so that we can move this country forward based on bold policies, which that poll suggests people are wanting, irrespective of political ideology or generation. The other thing I want to mention too is, and this is something that I hear centrists and establishment players talk about, is if we want to reach these people who are outside of, you know, blue districts, how about we actually focus on those folks who live in highly populated blue districts who don’t show up because they’re so exhausted and disaffected with the Democratic Party? If we reach those folks who are inclined to vote for the Democrats but don’t because we’re not fighting for them, we have a far more likely chance of winning than reaching out to folks who under no circumstances would consider folks who embrace values like health care is a human right, or housing is a human right, or not having a trillionaire class. There’s some people we’re not going to move, but many people we can and I think it’s not about left or right, it’s about moving whole communities forward in the most meaningful ways. And as it relates to these statements about other folks in other countries, I hope we’re all anti-imperialist, I hope we’re all anti-fascist. I don’t think these are particularly controversial stances.

ED O’KEEFE: Alright, well, we’ll leave it there. You are a big part of the debate in your party about who it should be focused on and how to do it and that’s why we wanted you here. Representative Rabb, thank you for joining us, we appreciate it. And we’ll be right back with our political panel, stay with us.

Transcript: Rep. Don Bacon on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Aug. 16, 2026

2026-08-16T12:17:00-0400 / CBS News

The following is the transcript of an interview with Rep. Don Bacon, Republican of Nebraska, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Aug. 16, 2026.

*

ED O’KEEFE: We turn now to Republican Congressman Don Bacon. He joins us from Omaha, Nebraska. Good morning, Congressman, and we understand it is your birthday. So happy birthday, and thank you for spending part of it with us.

REPRESENTATIVE DON BACON: Good morning to you, and yeah, I’m nine years old and dog years, so that makes me feel better.

ED O’KEEFE: Okay, well, if you could do the math, you’ll figure that out. But we appreciate you being here. I want to start this morning with something the president had to say on Friday about the state of the economy and the state of the war with Iran. Take a listen.

[BEGIN VC]

DONALD TRUMP: For you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember you’re doing it so that a very evil country cannot have- a country really, it’s the number one state sponsor of terror in the world. We don’t want to have them have a nuclear weapon. So remember that when you have to pay a little bit more, you’re at $4. It’s okay. I mean, it’s- I’m not- I’m not- I’ll never apologize. I did the right thing.

[END VC]

ED O’KEEFE: I know you’re not running for re-election this fall, Congressman. But in the context of the midterm elections, is the president’s justifications for gas prices across the country helpful to Republicans on the ballot this fall?

REP. BACON: I think here in- in the tape you just played, he was being honest. And I think he was setting maybe false expectations in the previous months during the initial, you know, parts of this campaign with Iran, saying, “We’re going to get a deal tomorrow, we’re going to get a deal tomorrow,” and- and not. This is going to be a longer term fight, and I think he needed to set appropriate and honest expectations here. Iran has killed about 1,000 Americans. It was the- has been the world’s leading exporter of terror. In fact, 600 Americans were killed in Iraq from primarily those very dangerous roadside bombs that Iran made and sent to all the terrorists in Iraq. And I just think it was important for him to level with the American people. This is going to be a tough fight, and we do not- we cannot allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think we should allow Iran to kill 1,000 Americans. This should probably been done a long time ago.

ED O’KEEFE: Yeah.

REP. BACON: But I think with the- he started out this whole war with, “This is going to be an easy fight. We’re going to be done here. It’s going to take a month, two months. Okay, we’re going to get a deal tomorrow.” And I think that that- those false expectations hurt him, and it’s hurt the- the favorability of what we’re trying to do here.

ED O’KEEFE: But do you get a sense he feels the pain of Americans, the economic pain?

REP. BACON: He doesn’t communicate it well. As you mentioned, he makes light of the affordability question, and we do have an affordability problem. And I think, you know, I think a better way for him to frame it, we had 9% inflation under Joe Biden. Of course, it went down towards the end of his presidency, but the Americans have never recovered from that. And once again, inflation is slightly higher than wages.

ED O’KEEFE: Yeah.

REP. BACON: So, I think most Americans are feeling the pain at the grocery store and the gas. So, I think it’s better just to acknowledge, hey, this is a problem, and we got- we got to work towards getting wages climbing faster than inflation. But one of the ways we could do that is to change his tariff policy. Tariffs have hurt inflation. It’s not only just the war with Iran and gas; tariffs have also had a- an impact here. And I would encourage the president to review the tariff policy. Global tariffs, it ends up being a tax on consumers, and we’re paying more because of it.

ED O’KEEFE: Well, you know, the fate of the USS Abraham Lincoln has been in the news in recent days. It is now expected to return to port after a more than nine-month deployment amid concerns about living conditions aboard the vessel. The president was also asked about this on Friday. Take a listen to this what he said.

[BEGIN VC]

DONALD TRUMP: No, no, no. Not nearly long enough.

[END VC]

ED O’KEEFE: Not nearly long enough the deployment has been, he said. Was the president wrong to be dismissive about the concerns aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln?

REP. BACON: I think so, Ed. It would have been better to acknowledge, hey, long deployments are hard. You know, I did one year in Iraq. I had another three- three other deployments to Iraq or the area that were shorter. But when I was in Iraq for a year, there were Marines and soldiers there for 18 months. So I think it’s better to acknowledge, hey, this is hard on the families. It’s hard on the service members. Thank them for being willing to defend our country and doing these 10-month deployments if you’re on an aircraft carrier. I think that would have been a much more better way of addressing this issue. It is hard on families, we should acknowledge that. But we’ve done it for previous wars and deployments, and we’ll have to do so in the future. I think that’s a better way to phrase it.

ED O’KEEFE: The USS George Washington is now headed into that region as the Lincoln comes back or heads to port. Do you think there needs to be some kind of congressional investigation or review of the last nine months and what was going on aboard that carrier?

REP. BACON: Now we should have oversight. We should bring in Secretary of the Navy and or the Commander, the- the Service Chief of the Navy, and have them explain to us the truth on that. But I- I served on an aircraft carrier as an Air Force guy during my 30 years in the Air Force, and we had some of these incidences when I was on the carrier. This was back in 1996, when we weren’t- weren’t at war. We were doing the north- the southern no-fly zone for Iraq. We were trying to deter Iran, but we had a couple members jump overboard and commit suicide while I was on that deployment. So, these incidences, they’re terrible, they’re sad, but it’s- but it has happened previously, and unfortunate, likely in the future as well.

ED O’KEEFE: You know, we’re about five and a half months into the war, and earlier this month, you argued Iran believes they can drag the president along. Looking at the battlefield as it currently stands, has the U.S. lost its advantage in this war?

REP. BACON: We still have the advantage, but we have to be patient. And I think that that was the point I was trying to make when I said that Iran was dragging the president. When the- when Iran hears the president say, “We’re going to get a deal today, we’re going to get a deal tomorrow, they want a deal.” Iran is- doesn’t think that way. What they were hearing was weakness. The president should say less. Keep the pressure on. This blockade is crippling to Iran, and we need to keep that blockade ironclad. Not let a single ship enter or leave the ports out of Iran. Their economy is in tatters. The- the leadership there is struggling. Keep the pressure on and say less. That would be my advice to the president.

ED O’KEEFE: And how do you assess the defense secretary Pete Hegseth’s performance during all this?

REP. BACON: Well, I think he’s followed the wishes of the president. I do have concerns that the president said he was not aware that we had a shortage of weapons like cruise missiles and Patriots. That’s not a good- good thing. I- I think that’s the number one issue. We’ve conducted these operations, and it’s appears that there’s been a lack of transparency. I think we’ll get some transparency when we go back to the- Washington D.C. here on the 31st of August. But there’s a big concern for many of us that when you have a shortage of Patriots, shortage of cruise missiles, and other weapons, that this has not been managed well, or in the fact that the president claims he did not know, so that- that’s a concern.

ED O’KEEFE: Real quick, in our new CBS News poll, more registered voters describe the Republican Party as extreme more than anything else, 58%. You’re one of the few mainstream moderates left in the House Republican Congress. Like I said, you’re retiring. You’re not running for re-election this year. But what do you think Republican leaders could do to meaningfully tack the party back to the center and reverse those numbers?

REP. BACON: Well, I became a Republican when I was 13 years old. When Ronald Reagan ran in 1976, he lost to Gerald Ford, but he won four years later. His philosophy, I believe, is still popular, and there’s- I’ve- I’ve pushed back in a few areas. Republicans have never supported tariffs since World War II, and suddenly we’re now- we’re the party of tariffs, and it’s not working, I don’t think, in the Midwest. So I think Republicans could reclaim the middle if we push back more on tariffs. Also, 70% of Americans support Ukraine, and yet the president–

ED O’KEEFE: Congress–

REP. BACON: –has not been that supportive. So there’s some areas here that we could push back on the White House, and also be where most Republican–

ED O’KEEFE: Alright.

REP. BACON: –or most Americans are at.

ED O’KEEFE: Congressman, thank you so much.

REP. BACON: Thank you.

ED O’KEEFE: Happy birthday. We appreciate it, and we will be right back with a lot more. Face the Nation. Stay with us.

GOP Rep. Don Bacon says Congress “should have oversight” amid concerns about USS Lincoln conditions

2026-08-16T13:07:44-0400 / CBS News

By

Washington — GOP Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska said on Sunday that Congress should conduct oversight following concerns about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is being replaced after a nearly nine-month deployment, while calling for testimony from top Navy officials.

“We should have oversight,” Bacon said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

The USS George Washington aircraft carrier is headed to the Middle East to replace the Lincoln, a U.S. official told CBS News on Friday, after some families have voiced concerns in recent weeks about conditions on the ship — like supply shortages and mental health issues. Media reports have quoted some family members who say they’ve heard of multiple sailors who have thought about jumping overboard amid the extended deployment.

Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said in a post on X on Friday that the Lincoln “will return home soon as part of a planned rotation.” Cao added that a “small number of mental health cases were treated with no loss of life.”

In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal called for the Navy to account for conditions aboard the carrier, which he said “has been deployed more than 250 days” without coming ashore “in over 200 days, setting a record for consecutive days at sea.”

Bacon, a retired Air Force Brigadier General who’s set to leave Congress early next year, said the secretary of the Navy or its service chief should come before lawmakers and “explain to us the truth on that.” But he noted that during his time in the Air Force, he experienced “some of these incidences.”

The Nebraska Republican said in 1996, when the U.S. wasn’t at war, he served on an aircraft carrier, enforcing the southern no-fly zone over Iraq.

“We had a couple members jump overboard and commit suicide while I was on that deployment,” Bacon said. “So these incidences, they’re terrible, they’re sad, but it has happened previously and unfortunately, likely in the future as well.”

The comments came after President Trump on Friday downplayed the toll on American sailors, while refuting concerns expressed by family members about the deployment’s length.

Asked whether the deployment has gone on too long, Mr. Trump told reporters, “No. Not nearly long enough.”