Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump made a brief stop at the Eden Center in Falls Church early Monday morning before making a quick detour to Arlington National Cemetery, where a highly publicized dispute erupted over Trump’s team violating the cemetery’s no-photo rule and flying out of town for a campaign rally.
Trump appeared at the Truong Tien restaurant in the Eden Center, arguably the most active and vibrant gathering place for Vietnamese-Americans in the United States, along with Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate Hung Cao, who is running against Democratic incumbent Tim Kaine.
Trump gave a brief speech and left the hall without eating, although he reportedly ordered takeout. The event was broadcast by C-SPAN.
Opened last year by Thanh Huong Thi Truong, the restaurant is one of dozens of outstanding Vietnamese restaurants in the center.
In his brief appearance, Trump referenced his support for Hung Cao in the Republican primaries earlier this year and now in the general election, saying, “I really like that name, Hung Cao,” and repeating it twice. He said, “I don’t know why, but the Vietnamese love me.” He added that he believes he has a chance of winning in Virginia in November against the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.
But while no political issues were discussed during Trump’s brief visit, Cao’s opponent in the November election, incumbent Democratic Senator Kaine, announced on Monday the release of a new series of press releases titled “Cao’s Cuts,” highlighting “Hung Cao’s unrealistic, extreme plans if elected to the U.S. Senate.”
Kaine announced that his campaign team will spend the next few weeks “denouncing Hung Cao’s dangerous plans and their potential impact on the people of Virginia.”
“Hung Cao is trying to hide his dangerous, extreme plans from Virginia voters,” said Michael Beyer, communications director for Senator Kaine’s campaign. “If Cao has his way, Cao’s cuts could raise taxes on Virginians, take away their health insurance, and end Social Security and Medicare. Our campaign is launching ‘Cao’s Cuts’ so Virginians know that Hung Cao is too extreme for Virginians.”
Kaine and Cao will face off in the November election, and Kaine has attacked his opponent for “avoiding facing voters and answering for his extreme plans.” During the primary campaign, Cao skipped a candidate forum in Augusta County, saying it would be “ridiculous” to drive to Abingdon to answer questions from Virginians, according to the Kaine team.
“Traditionally, Senator Kaine has accepted four invitations to debates and candidate forums in different regions of the Commonwealth. He is disappointed that his opponent declined to attend the first three,” said Michael Beyer, Kaine’s communications director for Virginia. “But he is not surprised – his opponent skipped 12 of 13 candidate forums during the Republican primaries.”
Kaine continued, “In February 2022, Florida Senator Rick Scott, then chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, put forward a radical budget plan for Republicans. Hung Cao boasted that Rick Scott had consulted him on the plan and called it “perfect,” even as his fellow Republicans sharply criticized Scott’s disastrous plan to eliminate Social Security and Medicare and raise taxes on the middle class. But it’s not just about Social Security and Medicare. Cao’s plans for law enforcement, veterans, and hard-working Virginians would be a disaster. If Cao had his way, he could weaken border security, financially defund law enforcement, jeopardize veterans’ benefits, raise taxes on active military members and incapacitate veterans, put Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid on the hit list, raise taxes on Virginia families and small businesses, and give huge tax giveaways to the wealthy.”
Trump said Monday in the small restaurant at the Eden Center in Falls Church: “I don’t know why it is, you’ll have to explain it to me, but the Vietnamese community loves me. I love them.” He called the Vietnamese community “the most beautiful dressers I’ve ever seen.”
Although Trump did not eat anything during his brief stay, he was asked if he had ever tried Vietnamese food. He said, “I love Vietnamese food, but I love the people there even more.” He told a group of supporters gathered there, “I’m going to buy myself something nice, I don’t know what it is yet.”
He reportedly spent most of his time signing autographs and complaining about both the upcoming presidential debate with Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s beach trips. “These are not the Vietnamese, they are hard-working people,” he said, according to Jessica Sidman of the Washingtonian Magazine.
Trump’s appearance there sparked a flood of comments on social media. A typically caustic remark was: “Next thing you know, he’s never been to Vietnam. Is he limping because of bone spurs?”
