Trump’s pick for top US military officer says did not wear pro-Trump hat

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Retired Air Force Lieutenant General Dan “Razin” Caine, President Donald Trump’s pick to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Tuesday he has never worn a pro-Trump “Make America Great Again” hat or any political merchandise.

Members of the military are bound by the U.S. Constitution to remain nonpolitical. But Trump has said that, when he met Caine in Iraq in 2018, Caine said he “loved” him and that Caine was in a hangar where service members started putting on Trump’s signature red caps.

“I’ve never worn any political merchandise or said anything to that effect,” Caine said at his Senate confirmation hearing.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; editing by Chizu Nomiyama)