Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly denounced the former commanding officer of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt Monday as either “too naive or too stupid” to be at the helm, according to a recording of the speech to the ship’s crew obtained by The Chronicle.

Then, after a daylong torrent of criticism over the recorded remarks that included congressional calls for his resignation, Modly flip-flopped and apologized Monday night.

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“Let me be clear, I do not think Captain Brett Crozier is naive nor stupid. I think, and always believed him to be the opposite,” Modly said in a statement. He apologized to the Navy, Crozier, “his family, and the entire crew of the Theodore Roosevelt for any pain my remarks may have caused.”

Modly’s about-face capped a dizzying day that included President Trump weighing in on what he called Modly’s “rough statement” — a 15-minute address in Guam, delivered over the ship’s intercom system. In it, Modly disparaged the hero’s send-off the crew gave Crozier after the secretary had relieved him of his command last week.

The Navy chief called Crozier a “a martyr CO” who betrayed his crew, railed about the media having an agenda and complained his family has been under attack since his decision to remove Crozier became a “big controversy in Washington, D.C.”

“It was a betrayal,” Modly said. “Of trust with me, with his chain of command, with you.”

Crozier, a Santa Rosa native, last week sent a letter to naval command raising alarms about dire conditions on the ship, asking for evacuations, and criticizing the Navy’s response. The Chronicle obtained the letter and published it.

Modly cited Crozier’s decision to copy more than 20 people on the letter as his reason for relieving Crozier of command of the Roosevelt.

“If he didn’t think ... that this information wasn’t going to get out into the public, in this information age that we live in, then he was too naive or too stupid to be commanding officer of a ship like this,” Modly said Monday, to audible gasps heard in the the audio. “The alternative is that he did it on purpose.”

Crozier’s March 30 memo to Navy command pleaded for immediate help to evacuate his carrier in Guam to prevent the spread of the virus through the cramped ship. But in his speech, Modly said he offered before then to come visit the ship and provide his full assistance.

Crozier “waved me off. He said he felt like things were under control,” Modly said.

On Monday, the Navy reported that 61% of the Roosevelt crew members have been tested for COVID-19, with 173 testing positive. The Navy said that 1,999 sailors have been moved ashore. Modly and top Navy officials said last week that by Friday they had planned to remove 2,700 sailors from the ship.

One of those who tested positive was Crozier, 50.

Trump said Monday that he may “look into it in detail.” The president said Monday at a news conference that it was “a mistake” for Crozier to send his memo “to many people,” as the Navy has alleged.

“It’s unfair to the families of the people on the ship because they get nervous,” Trump said. “And it shows weakness. There’s nothing weak about us now. Not anymore. We have the strongest military we’ve ever had.”

However, “with all of that said, (Crozier’s) career prior to that was very good,” Trump said. “I don’t want to destroy somebody for having a bad day.”

Modly said after the remarks became public Monday that he had no regrets.

“I have not listened to a recording of my remarks since speaking to the crew so I cannot verify if the transcript is accurate,” Modly said in a statement provided by the Navy. “The spoken words were from the heart, and meant for them. I stand by every word I said, even, regrettably any profanity that may have been used for emphasis.”

Chronicle attempts to reach Crozier were unsuccessful.

The speech, delivered to a crew that had days earlier chanted Crozier’s name, did not sit well with some.

One Roosevelt sailor told The Chronicle that the speech sounded “Orwellian.” The sailor echoed Modly’s statement about Crozier, saying the secretary himself was “too naive or too stupid to think this speech wouldn’t get out.”

“Some of these comments sound like something you might hear at a rally,” the sailor said. “And the comments about doing our jobs and duty? As if we need a reminder from this guy? Patronizing to try to play to the patriotism in us.”

The sailor who spoke to The Chronicle wished to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The Chronicle agreed not to identify the sailor in accordance with its policy on anonymous sources.

Modly’s address also drew swift condemnation Monday in Washington that helped to trigger his late-night apology.

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, was among those who called Monday for Modly to resign over his “mismanagement” of the coronavirus outbreak aboard the ship and for his retaliation against Crozier.

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, a Vietnam veteran whose district includes Crozier’s native Santa Rosa, called for an investigation into Crozier’s firing.

“The comments made by the Secretary of the Navy are downright unacceptable,” Thompson said. “The entire Department of Defense should be focused on the health of our men and women in uniform, not closing ranks and slandering a good man who has served his nation honorably.”

Bradley Martin, a retired Navy captain who served 30 years, said it was “highly unusual” to see the Navy secretary address the crew about a recently dismissed commanding officer. Typically, “it’s something that’s treated with a little bit of discretion,” said Martin, who commanded the Naval Expeditionary Task Force for Europe and Africa.

“For the secretary to go on a ship and say that the guy who you all admired had it all wrong seems like something unusual,” Martin said. “I don’t understand the point of being uncomplimentary of him.”

Martin thought it was “a stretch” for Modly to say that Crozier’s letter compromised the security of the ship. It was “reasonably well known” and had been reported in the media that crew members had tested positive for coronavirus, he said.

Mark Blakewood, whose son serves on the carrier, read the transcript of the address by Modly and said it helped him understand why Crozier felt compelled to email so many people rather than rely on the secretary.

“I’m now totally convinced Thomas Modly just cooked his own goose and ... needs to be immediately removed from his position,” Blakewood said.

Modly also bashed the media at length — including The Chronicle specifically.

“There is no, no situation where you go to the media,” Modly said. “Because the media has an agenda and the agenda that they have depends on which side of the political aisle they sit. ... They use it to divide us and use it to embarrass the Navy. They use it to embarrass you.”

As he acknowledged the crew members might be angry with him for firing their “beloved CO,” Modly said that “hatred” and “pure evil” have since been directed at him and his family. Then he added: “But ... it’s not about me.”

“I think it’s close to criminal the way they’re dealing with this guy,” Joe Biden tells @GStephanopoulos about the Navy firing captain of the Theodore Roosevelt. “...I think he should have a commendation rather than be fired.”



Trump defended the firing. https://t.co/IWEd5ppDTB pic.twitter.com/M1HUgApzNS — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 5, 2020

Modly gave the crew members his “personal word” they’d get what they need.

Inside the newsroom Anonymous sources: The Chronicle strives to attribute all information we report to credible, reliable, identifiable sources. Presenting information from an anonymous source occurs extremely rarely, and only when that information is considered crucially important and all other on-the-record options have been exhausted. In such cases, The Chronicle has complete knowledge of the unnamed person’s identity and of how that person is in position to know the information. The Chronicle’s detailed policy governing the use of such sources, including the use of pseudonyms, is available on sfchronicle.com.

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“Whatever else you may think of me, I don’t go back on my word,” he told them. “And when it comes down to the TR, whether you hate me or not, I will never, ever, ever, ever give up the ship, and neither should you.”

Matthias Gafni, Tal Kopan and Joe Garofoli are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: matthias.gafni@sfchronicle.com, tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com, jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mgafni, @talkopan, @joegarofoli