If Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao isn't careful, President Trump just might ask him to be his new press secretary after Karoline Leavitt departs the position to spend time with her family.
Because the Marine is getting REALLY good at demolishing fake leftist media narratives.
Last month, the media clutched their pearls over the Blue Angels performing a patriotic flyover to admiring beachgoers before a weekend airshow. Then, Cao stepped in and canceled all of the caterwauling with a single post.
Recently, the media has been manufacturing some more outrage related to the USS Abraham Lincoln. Specifically, they have been claiming that Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth are abusive to the military because there were some hearsay reports about bad conditions on the aircraft carrier, which has been deployed to the Middle East for several months.
Of course, most of the claims were not true, according to U.S. Central Command, but when has that ever stopped the media from their standard gaslighting?
Because the allegations, false though they may be, were a little more serious than an airshow, this time, Cao did not limit himself to a brief tweet. He wrote an entire article DESTROYING the media's latest attempt to undermine the military.
— Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao (@SECNAV) August 14, 2026
Articles do not show up in embedded tweets, so we have transcribed the entire post below:
Statement from Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao:
The USS Abraham Lincoln crushed their deployment and will return home soon as part of a planned rotation. Details will come but let me be clear: the safety and security of our Sailors and Marines always comes first.Mission accomplishment. Troop Welfare. This is how we lead.The Lincoln was extended because the mission demanded it. Deployments are hard. Combat operations make them harder. War is hell and normal routines are disrupted. One of the hardest aspects about warfighting beyond knowingly placing our service members in harm’s way is that even with the best planning and communication, change and uncertainty will always be in play. Our success depends on how we adapt.Sailors and Marines are expected to dig deep—and they always do. A leader’s responsibility is to take care of their people the best they can while balancing mission requirements. During this deployment we have seen both: the job is getting done and our leaders are taking care of their people.Unfortunately, the media are trying to paint our warriors as victims. Not only is that dishonest but it takes away the focus on the enemy and the threat it poses against our nation, people, and way of life.Here is the truth—
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As Cao and Hegseth have acknowledged, the ABE was on a very long deployment, which is sometimes required in a time of war. And they did have a couple of cases where a sailor's mental health needed care during that time, which was provided.
But there are more than 5,000 sailors, pilots, and other service members on an aircraft carrier. Over a period of 266 days, it would only be shocking if there weren't one or two instances of someone requiring such care.
What kills the media, and why they so quickly latch on to hearsay reports such as the ones coming from the Lincoln, is that most of those 5,000 LOVE the current administration, particularly Hegseth's affinity for the warfighters and the way that Cao will ALWAYS have their backs.
Hegseth also blasted those 'journalists' for their false reporting:
Facts for the fake, America-hating news… https://t.co/CNaBKcBDDr
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) August 14, 2026
As did Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell:
I deployed for 485 days in Afghanistan with an 80 percent-plus casualty rate. We came under fire nearly every day. Combat deployments bring real hardship. That is simply the truth.
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) August 14, 2026
We endured it. We held together. We finished the mission.
The media treatment of the USS Abraham… https://t.co/AU5c51IGNA
... is something different. Legitimate challenges of a long combat deployment are being twisted into a false narrative, while the genuine difficulties faced by military families are being used for headlines.
That is shameful.
The Sailors aboard the Lincoln are doing what American warriors have always done: remaining resilient, focused on the mission, and proud of their service on this historic deployment.
We stand with them.
And the sailors know they stand with them.
As opposed to the media, who generally hate the military and those who serve in it. They only pretend to care when they see an opportunity to sabotage it and the administration.
So who you gonna believe?
— Cynical Publius (@CynicalPublius) August 14, 2026
Hung Cao, an incredibly honorable, 30-year Navy veteran of Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Navy diving, or a bunch of filth from the Democrat/Media Complex who see their singular purpose to be destroying everything associated with the President America… https://t.co/dGWnoWTBdA
Yeah, we know who we're going to believe.
And it's not irrelevant old fossils like Bill Kristol, who tried to mock Cao's statement.
‘The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.’ https://t.co/8uz7H8ts0f
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) August 14, 2026
Evidence? What evidence does Kristol have? And why hasn't he presented any of it?
There’s literally no evidence before your eyes or ears. There hearsay upon hearsay statements with no context and no direct evidence. And the hearsay statements themselves aren’t anything unusual. Oh no, people are tired. Oh no, people are sad because they don’t get to go off… https://t.co/8ITPqfewhQ
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) August 15, 2026
... duty during combat operations. Oh no, the food’s not perfectly fresh.
@BillKristol is the perfect example of unaccomplished buffoons who somehow think they are geniuses and have figured out how to make a living convincing other stupid people of that.
Dumba**.
It's getting to the point that, as much fun as it is to mock Kristol and his desperate cries for attention, he's really not worth the time.
He's just a broken old man who will scream his Trump hatred at the drop of a hat.
This is what we signed up for it’s part of the job. Hooyah🫡🦅🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/MGymWU6Oeo
— BLT (@BLT21_) August 14, 2026
We'll take the word of a retired sailor over Kristol's 'evidence' every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
I've been on U.S. Army deployments for 1.5-2 years in the Balkans and not once - NOT ONCE - did the media whine at military-destroying s***bags SEC Cohen or President Clinton about any of them.
— Nonya Damnbusiness🐻 (@iball) August 14, 2026
Of course, they didn't. That was (D)ifferent.
These Sailors and Marines know how hard they worked to accomplish the mission. Absolutely, they are not victims. They are warriors.
— Kate (@spearpoint_kate) August 15, 2026
Proud to wave a flag for You and the Abraham Lincoln 🇺🇸
— Mary Gerdt Parler:Alvarita1 (@marygerdt) August 15, 2026
Thank all of You for your service 🙏 pic.twitter.com/ulAASuaGXb
That is how people who love and respect the military react.
But we know the media are not included in this category.
The scum sucking American media would rather spread enemy propaganda than the truth @SECNAV transmits here. God bless our men and women in harms way. https://t.co/vxticD2lCN
— Rob Maness (@RobManess) August 14, 2026
They will TRY to spread propaganda; that's for sure.
But Cao has shown on multiple occasions that he won't let them get away with it before stomping on their false narratives.
Why is this guy still Acting SECNAV?
— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) August 14, 2026
Who do we have to fluff to get him nominated? https://t.co/15wNNqxFNn
Now, THAT is a good question.
(Ahem ... the first one; not so much the second one, LOL.)
If we're going to be critical of President Trump for anything, it won't be for the fake stories, hearsay, and exaggerations coming from the ABE.
It's for not yet nominating Cao to be the permanent Secretary of the Navy.
But, as we noted above, maybe it's because Trump wants him for the White House Briefing Room.
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Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.
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