Patrons at a northern Virginia restaurant specializing in Vietnamese cuisine broke out in raucous cheers to greet former President Donald Trump on Monday, according to reports.
The 45th president visited the Truong Tien Vietnamese Restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia, with Hung Cao, a U.S. Senate candidate in Virginia. Cao, a Naval Academy graduate and combat veteran, is running to unseat incumbent Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine.
Earlier in the day, Cao had accompanied Trump when the 45th president laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. The wreath was a tribute to the 13 service members who lost their lives in a suicide bomb attack at Abbey Gate in Kabul, Afghanistan, during the chaotic withdrawal of American forces under Biden’s administration, the Western Journal reported.
Cao stood by Trump as he entered the Vietnamese restaurant, and the room erupted 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 noted further.
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.”
“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.” After both finished speaking, one customer yelled: “Make America great again!”
Trump then signed autographs afterward, with one telling him, “We will fight for you, sir.” Another hollered, “We need you for the next four years.”
The former president asked several patrons if they still loved their native Vietnam. While they affirmed their affection for the country, they expressed disdain for the communist government in power.
Cao’s speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month, meanwhile, was met with a positive reception.
“In November, the left will vote for the hatred of one man,” he said during his speech. “We will vote for love: love of God, love of family, and love for the greatest nation on earth.”
In 2020, Trump performed well with Latino voters in Florida, especially those from countries with communist governments such as Cuba and Venezuela. An exit poll by NBC News discovered that 55 percent of Cuban-Americans in Florida voted for Trump, with 48 percent of Latinos overall supporting him in the state.
Trump is leading Vice President Kamala Harris by three percentage points in a recent national head-to-head survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports.
“Trump came out ahead 49% to 46%. That amounts to a slight gain for Harris, who was lagging behind Trump 45% to 49% in Rasmussen’s poll last week. When third-party hopefuls were added to the mix, Trump came out on top again with 47% to Harris’ 45%, followed by independent contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at 4%, and all others at 1% or less, per Rasmussen,” the New York Post reported.
