Why Trump chose Dan Caine to be top US military officer — and when he became a favorite of prez
General Dan Caine — the newly nominated chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — got tapped for his new position after becoming a favorite of President Donald Trump during a meeting with him in Iraq in 2018.
Since that warzone meeting, Trump has repeatedly praised Caine, who served as the deputy commander of the special operations task force, which was then fighting the Islamic State.
Trump called the three-star general “instrumental” in the “complete annihilation of the ISIS caliphate” in a Truth Social post Friday — harping on Caine’s reputation as a “warfighter.”
Caine’s successful stint in Iraq, which lasted from 2018-2019, made a strong impression on the president, who has repeatedly referenced the general in speeches since.
“He’s a real general, not a television general,” Trump said in Miami on Wednesday, two days before he proclaimed on Truth Social that Dan “Razin” Caine was his pick for the highest ranking position in the American military.
Caine does not have the traditional resume of a chairman of the Joint Chiefs — rising only to the rank of three-star general and never before leading a combatant command or leading a military branch of service.
Gen. Caine has held a number of jobs in Washington, DC, since 2005, including as special assistant to the secretary at the Department of Agriculture and policy director for counterterrorism at the White House’s homeland security council.
He also served as the associate director for military affairs at the CIA before his retirement last year.
A retired F-16 pilot, Caine was tasked with protecting Washington on September 11, 2001 in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.
President Trump claimed that Caine, “despite being highly qualified and respected,” was “passed over for promotion by Sleepy Joe Biden,” in his nominating Truth Social post.
Gen. Caine will now be promoted to a four-star general and will head to congress where he will need to be confirmed before assuming the responsibilities of his newly appointed role.
Caine graduated from Virginia Military Institute with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1990.
A senior military official said Caine will seek to keep politics out of the military.
Caine “puts the mission and troops above politics. He is not a political guy,” the official said, according to the Associated Press.
The official added that when Caine found out about his nomination, his first concern was that the outgoing Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown was taken care of and treated with respect.
