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riversedge

(82,549 posts)
Thu Apr 23, 2026, 05:26 PM Apr 23

Trump has fired Navy Secretary John Phelan, replacing him with failed VA Senate candidate Hung Cao who:

My only hope is that since he if a retired military--he will care enough about our
troops to keep them safe.





EXCLUSIVE: VA Senate candidate says he was 'blown up' in combat. His record doesn’t show that.
Elizabeth Beyer Tom Vanden Brook USA TODAY


Updated June 27, 2024, 11:20 a.m. ET


WASHINGTON — The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Virginia, a decorated Navy veteran, has made repeated references to becoming disabled after he was “blown up” in combat, and has stressed that he has scars from his military service while Democratic incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine got rich from the safety of Capitol Hill.

Yet the Navy service record for Hung Cao, who won the GOP primary in June, does not show a Purple Heart award, the commendation given to troops who have suffered wounds from “direct or indirect result of enemy action” that required medical attention. Nor does his record indicate that he received the Navy’s Combat Action Ribbon, which requires that a sailor "must have rendered satisfactory performance under enemy fire while actively participating in ground or surface combat engagement.” USA TODAY obtained Cao's record from the Navy.

Cao, 52, through his campaign, declined to answer specific questions about his military service. He has not claimed to have been awarded a Purple Heart or the Navy's Combat Action Ribbon. His record shows that he was awarded a Bronze Star and that he deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. The Bronze Star is awarded to sailors who distinguish themselves by "heroic or meritorious achievement or service.........................




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FactPost
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Trump has fired Navy Secretary John Phelan, replacing him with failed VA Senate candidate Hung Cao who:

— Asked for a KKK hood with "slits" as eye holes instead of circles so he could see better
— Falsely claimed to have been injured in combat
— Warned that a wave of "witchcraft" was taking over America
— Argued he is African American because he once lived in Africa





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10 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Trump has fired Navy Secretary John Phelan, replacing him with failed VA Senate candidate Hung Cao who: (Original Post) riversedge Apr 23 OP
Hung Cao sounds AWFUL & a Liar... Cha Apr 23 #1
He fits the criteria TSF is looking for Deuxcents Apr 23 #2
I am sorry to say that your hopes are misplaced. The man is nuts. niyad Apr 23 #3
Cut out their own entrails? RussBLib Apr 23 #4
Their own. niyad Apr 23 #5
Seems like that would make a bit, uh, harder to fight RussBLib Apr 23 #6
You want logic from a crazy person? niyad Apr 23 #9
If they cut out their own entrails... MorbidButterflyTat Apr 23 #7
You expect logic from a crazy person? niyad Apr 23 #8
Trump's Dreams for a Battleship Led to His Navy Secretary's Ouster (NYT Gift Article) LetMyPeopleVote Apr 24 #10

niyad

(135,929 posts)
3. I am sorry to say that your hopes are misplaced. The man is nuts.
Thu Apr 23, 2026, 06:07 PM
Apr 23

Read where he wants warriors strong enough to cut out their entrails, eat them, and ask for seconds.

RussBLib

(10,882 posts)
4. Cut out their own entrails?
Thu Apr 23, 2026, 06:14 PM
Apr 23

Or the entrails of the enemy?

And all the “witches” bullshit…..

Sounds like a real fun guy.

https://russblib.blogspot.com/?m=1

RussBLib

(10,882 posts)
6. Seems like that would make a bit, uh, harder to fight
Thu Apr 23, 2026, 06:21 PM
Apr 23

So we go from insane to crazier.

And shouldn’t it be Hung Bull?

https://russblib.blogspot.com/?m=1

MorbidButterflyTat

(5,124 posts)
7. If they cut out their own entrails...
Thu Apr 23, 2026, 06:26 PM
Apr 23

why would they have to "ask" for seconds? Couldn't they just dig in?

LetMyPeopleVote

(184,905 posts)
10. Trump's Dreams for a Battleship Led to His Navy Secretary's Ouster (NYT Gift Article)
Fri Apr 24, 2026, 12:29 PM
Apr 24

The Navy secretary, John Phelan, was supposed to deliver the first of the president’s ships by 2028. The timeline was nearly impossible.



https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/23/us/politics/trump-navy-secretary.html?unlocked_article_code=1.dFA.-O4X.f4VsdDqaN8QD&smid=url-share

President Trump wanted one thing, more than anything else, from his secretary of the Navy, John Phelan: a new class of battleships.

They’ll be the fastest, the biggest and by far — 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built,” Mr. Trump boasted at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate and resort in Florida a few days before Christmas. Mr. Phelan, a billionaire investor who has a home near the club, stood next to the president as he made the announcement.

Mr. Phelan’s job was to deliver the first of Mr. Trump’s battleships by 2028.

On Wednesday, Mr. Trump fired Mr. Phelan, who had struggled to come up with a plan to deliver the ships on the nearly impossible timeline that Mr. Trump has demanded, senior defense and administration officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters.....

Presidents rarely pay close attention to military procurement, but Mr. Trump has spoken repeatedly about his plans for a new “Trump-class” battleship. In a February speech to soldiers at Fort Bragg, N.C., Mr. Trump insisted that he had helped design the new class of ships that bear his name......

In Mr. Trump’s imagination the new warship would be massive, weighing as much as 40,000 tons, and would be packed with new high-tech weapons, like lasers, hypersonic missiles and electric rail guns, most of which are still in development and years from being deployed.

In recent weeks, it had become clear to Mr. Phelan that the Navy and the U.S. shipbuilding industry did not have the ability to deliver on Mr. Trump’s vision. Mr. Phelan recently suggested to Mr. Trump that the Navy might have to rely on European shipyards to deliver the battleships on the ambitious timeline Mr. Trump was demanding, senior military and administration officials said.

Mr. Trump rejected the suggestion.

Battleships are not practical or effective in today's world. trump wanted magical battleships that bore his name and fired Phelan for promising these magical battleships and not delivering.
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