President Donald Trump made people laugh in the Oval Office on Wednesday when he asked a wounded veteran about his “Let’s Go Brandon” sticker.
As the president met with wounded veterans, he acknowledged the sticker and asked, “Who is that picture on there?”
“That is Joe Biden,” the veteran said in response. “And it says, ‘Let’s go, Brandon.’” The room erupted in laughter.
“I’m saying, ‘what was that picture?’” Trump said through laughter. “That’s great.”
Afterward, Trump thanked the veterans for their service and asked if any of them wanted to say anything as the media looked on.
Per Fox News, one veteran offered his gratitude to the former president: “Mr. President, we just were very happy with the energy that this administration is bringing, and it’s an administration that says it does what it promises. We’re behind you. We believe in you. And I think we all love you.”
Another veteran added: “Thank you for loving America, sir.”
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The event marked the launch of several new executive orders, including significant education initiatives, Fox added. These included reforms to the higher education accreditation system, new transparency requirements to reveal foreign influence at U.S. universities, and a nationwide effort to expand artificial intelligence education for American students.
Late Wednesday, the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate voted to confirm retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, Trump’s candidate for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The 60 to 25 vote occurred after Democrats, backed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), delayed Caine’s nomination from being quickly approved in protest of Trump’s removal of the previous top military commander, Gen. C.Q. Brown Jr. The senators, who recently took another two-week recess and skipped town, claimed Brown’s ouster was unjustified.
Despite Brown’s unexplained removal, Caine received bipartisan support during a very calm confirmation hearing with no major challenges to him becoming the United States military’s senior uniformed leader. The Senate Armed Services Committee, which conducted his hearing, voted 23-4 to forward his nomination to the full Senate.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the panel’s chairman, encouraged his colleagues on Wednesday to pass Caine “without any delays,” citing China’s ongoing military expansion and rivals that continue to band together against US interests.
“President Trump should have the expertise of the highest-ranking military officer in place without any delays,” he said in a statement, arguing that Caine “sailed through” the Senate Armed Services Committee’s vote, “an overwhelming, nearly unanimous, bipartisan endorsement.”
The approval came after Trump surprised the Pentagon and Congress in February by removing seven top officials, including Brown and Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first female Chief of Naval Operations.
Democrats contended that the firings were part of the Trump administration’s effort to politicize the historically apolitical United States military, with the goal of filling key DOD leadership positions with people who would not disagree with him. In fact, the move was aimed at de-politicizing the Pentagon which has been up-staffed with left-wing DEI advocates during President Joe Biden’s administration, Trump officials argued.
Prior to his current job, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth campaigned for Brown to be sacked, along with all other “woke” generals working in the building’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
“It sends a chilling message about who is and is not welcome in our military,” Warren said of the firings during a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing Wednesday.
During his confirmation hearing, Caine pledged to serve in an apolitical manner.
In nominating him, Trump wrote, “General Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a ‘warfighter’ with significant interagency and special operations experience,” and said that Caine had been “highly qualified” for promotion but was “passed over” by the Biden administration.