Sen. Ted Cruz slams ’emasculated’ U.S. military depicted in Army ad campaign
Ted Cruz #TedCruz
WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Cruz criticized the U.S. military for being “emasculated” compared to the Russian military in a tweet on Thursday.
The senator retweeted a video with an apparent ad for the Russian military showing male soldiers training, suiting up, jumping out of an airplane and loading a gun.
The ad was followed by a cartoon ad for the U.S. military about Army Cpl. Emma Malonelord, who says in the video she was “raised by two moms” and “marched for equality” as a kid. Malonelord says in the video that she joined the Army to “prove my inner strength.”
“Holy crap,” Cruz wrote in the tweet. “Perhaps a woke, emasculated military is not the best idea….”
In another tweet, Cruz responded “yep” as John Noonan, a conservative national security commentator, wrote “we are going to be the most tolerant military in history ever to lose a war.”
The American ad is part of a recruiting campaign titled “The Calling” that the Army rolled out this month aimed at making the Army seem more relatable.
“Research tells us that young people today see the Army as a ‘distant star’ — a place requiring a nearly superhuman level of discipline with little relevance to their daily lives,” Maj. Gen. Alex Fink, Chief of Army Enterprise Marketing, said in a statement about the campaign when it was announced. “Similarly, youth don’t necessarily connect with those who serve or see common ground in terms of interests, abilities, and goals. ‘The Calling’ shatters these misperceptions by showing that soldiers are all of us: real people with hopes, dreams, fears, aspirations, families, friends, and obstacles to overcome.”
Cruz’s tweet sparked some outrage on Thursday.
“Ted Cruz attacks a US Army soldier for telling her story, says he prefers Russians. Because Ted Cruz is a sedition-loving traitor,” VoteVets, a progressive political group, tweeted.
“The U.S. military is second to none. Please keep it out of your political theater,” tweeted Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who was a key witness in former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment inquiry. “I hear there are actual problems Congress needs to address. BTW didn’t you swear to support and defend the U.S. Constitution?”
ben.wermund@chron.com