Caine Refutes Trump’s Story About MAGA Hat
The candidate for the position of Joint Chiefs chair stated that the president "was actually talking about somebody else."
TroibNews 
Retired Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, the Joint Chiefs chair nominee, disputed President Donald Trump’s assertion that he wore a MAGA hat during their meeting in Iraq.
“For 34 years, I’ve upheld my oath of office and my commitment to my commission,” Caine stated during his confirmation hearing with Sen. Roger Wicker, emphasizing, “And I have never worn any political merchandise.”
This hearing came in light of Trump’s recent dismissal of Gen. C. Q. Brown, the former Joint Chiefs chair, marking a significant moment as it examined whether Caine could provide apolitical military advice.
For the first time, Caine publicly contradicted a narrative Trump often shares about their 2018 encounter in Iraq. According to Trump, Caine claimed, “I would kill for you, sir,” and placed a MAGA cap on his head—a move that could have sparked controversy given the obligation of servicemembers to offer nonpartisan guidance to civilian leaders.
“I went back and listened to those tapes, and I think the president was actually talking about somebody else,” Caine remarked in response to an inquiry from the panel’s leading Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed. “And I've never worn any political merchandise or said anything to that effect.”
Caine committed to giving independent military advice to the president, regardless of his willingness to accept it. “Candor has gotten me here today, and candor will continue to allow me to do my job,” he asserted before the senators.
Wicker expressed trust in Caine from the start of the hearing, asserting that the retired Air Force officer would provide advice “without bias.”
However, Caine avoided a question regarding whether national security leaders should have used a Signal group chat to discuss military plans in Yemen, referring instead to Wicker's and Reed’s call for a Pentagon inspector general investigation into the matter. He also contended that there was no necessity for Trump’s senior military advisor to be involved in the chat, labeling it as “a partisan political chat, and so the joint force should not have been represented in there.”
Despite this, Caine, who previously worked as a military liaison to the CIA, underscored the importance of safeguarding sensitive operational information. “What I will say is we should always preserve the element of surprise, and that should translate across every information domain and format, and never put our war fighters in any harm's way,” he explained.
Caine, an ex-F-16 pilot with extensive experience in senior Pentagon, CIA, and special operations roles against the Islamic State, retired last year. Notably, he has never held the four-star rank typically required for the Joint Chiefs chair position and would need to return to service to attain the additional star needed for the role.
Caine described himself as an “unconventional” candidate for this position, indicating he had not sought the role or envisioned himself in it before Trump’s selection but did not elaborate on the reasoning behind Trump’s choice of a retired officer.
Sen. Mazie Hirono cautioned that offering candid advice to the current president has often led to unfavorable outcomes for others. She pointed out Trump's “without cause” dismissal of Brown and his retribution against former Joint Chiefs chair Gen. Mark Milley, despite their disagreements, which included stripping him of his security detail, clearance, and Pentagon portrait. “It's always a challenge to stand up to this president,” she remarked.
Sophie Wagner for TROIB News
“For 34 years, I’ve upheld my oath of office and my commitment to my commission,” Caine stated during his confirmation hearing with Sen. Roger Wicker, emphasizing, “And I have never worn any political merchandise.”
This hearing came in light of Trump’s recent dismissal of Gen. C. Q. Brown, the former Joint Chiefs chair, marking a significant moment as it examined whether Caine could provide apolitical military advice.
For the first time, Caine publicly contradicted a narrative Trump often shares about their 2018 encounter in Iraq. According to Trump, Caine claimed, “I would kill for you, sir,” and placed a MAGA cap on his head—a move that could have sparked controversy given the obligation of servicemembers to offer nonpartisan guidance to civilian leaders.
“I went back and listened to those tapes, and I think the president was actually talking about somebody else,” Caine remarked in response to an inquiry from the panel’s leading Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed. “And I've never worn any political merchandise or said anything to that effect.”
Caine committed to giving independent military advice to the president, regardless of his willingness to accept it. “Candor has gotten me here today, and candor will continue to allow me to do my job,” he asserted before the senators.
Wicker expressed trust in Caine from the start of the hearing, asserting that the retired Air Force officer would provide advice “without bias.”
However, Caine avoided a question regarding whether national security leaders should have used a Signal group chat to discuss military plans in Yemen, referring instead to Wicker's and Reed’s call for a Pentagon inspector general investigation into the matter. He also contended that there was no necessity for Trump’s senior military advisor to be involved in the chat, labeling it as “a partisan political chat, and so the joint force should not have been represented in there.”
Despite this, Caine, who previously worked as a military liaison to the CIA, underscored the importance of safeguarding sensitive operational information. “What I will say is we should always preserve the element of surprise, and that should translate across every information domain and format, and never put our war fighters in any harm's way,” he explained.
Caine, an ex-F-16 pilot with extensive experience in senior Pentagon, CIA, and special operations roles against the Islamic State, retired last year. Notably, he has never held the four-star rank typically required for the Joint Chiefs chair position and would need to return to service to attain the additional star needed for the role.
Caine described himself as an “unconventional” candidate for this position, indicating he had not sought the role or envisioned himself in it before Trump’s selection but did not elaborate on the reasoning behind Trump’s choice of a retired officer.
Sen. Mazie Hirono cautioned that offering candid advice to the current president has often led to unfavorable outcomes for others. She pointed out Trump's “without cause” dismissal of Brown and his retribution against former Joint Chiefs chair Gen. Mark Milley, despite their disagreements, which included stripping him of his security detail, clearance, and Pentagon portrait. “It's always a challenge to stand up to this president,” she remarked.
Sophie Wagner for TROIB News
