Former President Donald Trump received a rowdy reception when he walked into a Vietnamese restaurant in northern Virginia on Monday.
The 45th president visited the Truong Tien Vietnamese Restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia, along with Virginia U.S. Senate candidate Hung Cao. The Naval Academy graduate and combat veteran is running to replace incumbent Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine.
Cao earlier in the day had been with Trump when the 45th president laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in memory of the 13 service members killed by a suicide bomb attack at Abbey Gate in Kabul, Afghanistan, during the Biden’s administration chaotic withdrawal of American forces.
I was proud to be with President Trump this morning at Arlington National Cemetery, to honor the 11 Marines, 1 Soldier and 1 Sailor killed three years ago in Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/sR3SuxeYEp
— Hung Cao (@HungCao_VA) August 26, 2024
Cao was at Trump’s side when he entered Truong Tien Vietnamese Restaurant and the room broke out in cheers and applause.
“Somehow, I don’t know what it is — you’ll have to explain it — the Vietnamese community loves me, and I love them,” Trump said, causing the people in the room to cheer even louder and break out into a chant of “USA! USA! USA!”
“In Florida, we go down and we have large groups of people, always dressed perfectly, with the red and the silver. I say, ‘You’re the most beautiful dressers I’ve ever seen,’” he added.
Trump then turned to the senate candidate and said, “I love his name — Hung Cao. I love that name, and that name alone should get you elected.”
Will Trump win in November?
The GOP presidential nominee expressed confidence that both he and Cao can win Virginia.
“We’re looking to win the state,” Trump said, “which is not necessarily good for Republicans, but I’m not an average Republican, and neither are you.”
Cao predicted that the people of Virginia would elect him the first Vietnamese U.S. senator.
As the two finished speaking, a patron yelled, “Make America great again!”
Trump could be seen signing autographs afterward, with one telling him, “We will fight for you, sir.” Another called out, “We need you for the next four years.”
President Trump visits a Vietnamese restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia:
“We’ll all fight for you, sir!”
“We need you for the next four years!” pic.twitter.com/wzs98dbcjx
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 26, 2024
The former president asked some of the patrons if they still loved their native Vietnam, and there were replies that they did, but not the communists running it.
Cao’s speech to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month was well received.
U.S. Senate Candidate Hung Cao: “In November, the left will vote for the hatred of one man. We will vote for love: love of God, love of family, and love for the greatest nation on earth.” pic.twitter.com/3riBmHkj4t
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 17, 2024
“In November, the left will vote for the hatred of one man,” he said. “We will vote for love: love of God, love of family, and love for the greatest nation on earth.”
In 2020, Trump did well with Latinos in Florida, particularly from nations with communist governments like Cuba and Venezuela.
Watch Cuban-Americans in Miami-Dade County celebrate President Trump’s strong showing in Florida along the iconic Southwest Eighth Street near Little Havana on Tuesday. https://t.co/asXsOMDpph pic.twitter.com/7v962dBn8q
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 4, 2020
An NBC News exit poll found 55 percent of Cuban-Americans in Florida voted for Trump, with 48 percent of Latinos overall supporting him in the state.
People from Vietnam also appear to appreciate the 45th president’s stand for freedom.