Former President Donald Trump has endorsed anti-communist Navy veteran Hung Cao, one of the five Republican candidates running for U.S. Senate in Virginia.
President Trump announced the endorsement on his social media platform Truth Social late Sunday evening.
“Hung Cao is a highly respected retired Navy Captain running to represent the Great People of Virginia in the United States Senate,” President Trump wrote.
Mr. Cao, who came to the U.S. as a refugee from Vietnam in 1975, served in the U.S. Navy from 1989 to 2021. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1996 and a Physics Master’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2008.
“A Combat Veteran and Highly Decorated Special Operations Officer, Hung Cao will be a tireless fighter to stop Inflation, grow our Economy, secure our Border, strongly support our Incredible Military/Vets, and defend our always under siege Second Amendment,” President Trump wrote, referring to Mr. Cao’s experience as a U.S. Navy special operations officer in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia.
“Hung Cao has my Complete and Total Endorsement.”
The former president continued in all caps: “HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN, AND WE WILL, AT THE SAME TIME, GET RID OF THE WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY, CROOKED JOE BIDEN!”
Mr. Cao took to social media platform X to say he was “honored to receive an endorsement from the 45th and 47th President of the United States Donald Trump!”
The endorsement came a day after President Trump made an appearance at the Libertarian Party’s national convention in D.C. where he expressed his confidence that Mr. Cao is “gonna win.”
Anti-Communist
The campaign video of Mr. Cao opens with his memories of Communist Vietnam, where his grandfathers on both his mother’s and father’s side were taken by Communists—and never seen again.
“We escaped from Vietnam just days before Saigon fell to the communists,” the Navy vet said. “We were given a new life in the most generous country on Earth—America saved my life.”
According to Mr. Cao, the U.S. “has taken a dark turn” and is becoming more like a “banana republic.”
“As a child in West Africa, I grew up with first-hand knowledge of corrupt, dictatorial regimes. I never thought I would see these same tactics here in America,” the candidate wrote on his campaign site, referring to targeted IRS investigations, bribery scandals allegedly involving the Biden family, and the court cases against President Trump.
“It’s the weaponization of the Justice Department,” Mr. Cao said.
Further on Mr. Cao’s pro-life agenda are border security, energy independence, and election integrity.
According to his campaign website, the former Navy Capt. also takes specific issues with DEI and CRT programs and policies.
“The hyper-focus on race and gender is destroying years of work that ensured equal opportunity for all Americans regardless of race, sex, and religion,” Mr. Cao said. “Racism is racism, no matter what else you call it. Prioritizing one race over another is racism, and everybody knows it.”
The Virginia primary is scheduled for June 18. The winner will face off with Democrat incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) in November’s general election.