GOP U.S. Senate nominee from Virginia promoted candidacy on show that has repeatedly called for political violence

Written by Eric Hananoki

Published

Hung Cao, a commentator and the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Virginia, recently appeared on the show of Josh Bernstein, an extremist who has called for the executions of numerous political figures and said that “there’s going to be another civil war” where “they’re trying to kill us here, so we’re going to have to fight them.” During the interview, Cao asked for campaign donations and received Bernstein’s “100%” endorsement. 

Cao is an author who won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Virginia. He recently spoke at the Republican National Convention. He also appeared as a commentator on Fox News prior to running for Senate. 

He appeared on the June 22 edition of The Josh Bernstein Show, which streams online. Bernstein is a conspiracy theorist and extremist who states on his website: 

Leftist Radicals brazenly stole our elections with the help of many crooked Republicans. 

And now America is ruled by a Geriatric corrupt Puppet bought and paid for by the Chinese Communist Party who unleashed a virus on America and the World in order to gain world domination. 

But 80 million of us are fighting back! We will NEVER back down! We will NEVER shut up! We will NEVER relent! And we will NEVER Comply! 

Welcome to the Counter-Intelligence Center of America’s Second Revolution!

During the interview, Bernstein and Cao both attacked Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Cao’s opponent in the race. Toward the conclusion of the interview, Bernstein told Cao: “Look, I really hope that you win this race. I will say this right now, proudly here on JBUShow.com, I 100% fully endorse you.” Cao responded by asking for campaign donations and said that he needs the support of Bernstein’s audience. 

From the June 22, 2024, edition of The Josh Bernstein Show

Cao was receiving an endorsement from someone who has repeatedly promoted political violence, as Right Wing Watch has documented. For instance: 

  • Bernstein said that former presidential medical adviser Anthony Fauci “deserves to be sodomized every single day in a prison cell for the rest of his life.”
  • Bernstein said of the state of the country: “We now have the Nazi regime here in America, and they’re trying to kill us here, so we’re going to have to fight them, unfortunately, here in America. And that’s why there’s going to be another civil war. I don’t know when it’s going to happen. But it’s almost a guaranteed certain going to happen.”
  • Bernstein said: “The blood of patriots and tyrants could be coming, and it's going to be hopefully a lot more tyrants than patriots."
  • Bernstein said that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) “is a worthless pile of shit” and that “this bitch should be executed.” 
  • Right Wing Watch wrote that Bernstein said he wants “to see Joe Biden and ‘these bastards hang by the neck until it cracks’ or else the American people will take matters into their own hands.”
  • Bernstein said that “James Comey, Andrew McCabe, all of them, they’re all guilty.” He then stated: “They should be swinging from nooses at halftime at the next Super Bowl. That’s what they should be doing.”
  • Bernstein commented on a Washington state gun safety law and said he’s “a huge supporter of the police and law enforcement” but then said: “I’ll tell you right now, I won’t shed one tear — not one tear — if I find out that an officer is wounded or killed trying to confiscate weapons from law-abiding citizens in any state.”

During a July 2023 broadcast, Bernstein hosted U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, who told the extremist host that Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs of Arizona “should be pulled out by her collar” for supposedly committing fraud. Bernstein agreed with Lake, saying that “you are correct” that she was “fraudulently selected.”