BRISTOL, Va. – Virginia Republican Senate candidate and Navy SEAL veteran Hun Kao on Friday blasted Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz for telling “blatant lies” about his military history while campaigning in southwest Virginia.
“For 20 years they’ve been letting this guy get away with the lie that he deployed to Iraq, which he didn’t, and they’ve been letting him get away with the lie that he retired as a master sergeant, which he didn’t, which is a complete lie,” Kao told The Post.
A former Navy Captain, Kao has spent most of his adult life in uniform, first as a cadet at the U.S. Naval Academy and then as a special operations officer in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.
Kao, who is currently challenging Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) for the Senate, argued that his military record has been subject to more scrutiny than that of a two-term Minnesota governor as a Democratic presidential candidate.
“They ran articles attacking me, saying he was blown up, but he doesn’t have a Purple Heart,” Kao told the Post. USA Today article That called into question Sgt.’s military record.
“Wait a second. Are you telling me there are millions of disabled veterans in America who are 100% disabled like me, but don’t have a Purple Heart, and they’re lying?”
“They asked me to report every time I was outside the barbed wire and was shot at,” he added.
Appearing with Cao on Friday afternoon, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin emphasized that Cao’s military service is a key reason why Virginians should elect him to the U.S. Senate.
“Captain Hung Kao will be going to Washington to stand strong with President Trump. Captain Hung Kao understands what it means to serve, and he understands what it means to serve with honor.”
Kao received President Trump’s endorsement ahead of the Virginia Republican Senate primary in June, where he won with more than 60% of the vote, beating out four other candidates.
A poll released in July showed Cao trailing Tim Kaine by 10 points, 39 percent to 49 percent.
Still, Republicans hope Kao’s background as a Vietnamese refugee who came to the United States and became a decorated military veteran can attract new voters in the purple state.
