Wikimedia Commons / Gage Skidmore
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz smirks from the stage at a 2019 event hosted by conservative group Turning Point USA.
In his latest Twitter outburst, the Texas Republican took offense at new U.S. Army recruitment videos that struck him as too touchy feely, mainly because the recruit mentioned that she was raised by same-sex parents.
"Perhaps a woke, emasculated military is not the best idea," Cruz said, trying to make his point by attaching someone else's TikTok video contrasting what's alleged to be a Russian army recruitment video with the recent U.S. one.
Holy crap.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 20, 2021
Perhaps a woke, emasculated military is not the best idea.... https://t.co/8aVFMW98NM
The purported Russian video shows buff white men with shaved heads engaging in military maneuvers, while the U.S. spot features Cpl. Emma Malonelord talking about how she was raised by two moms — something that meant "defending freedom" from an early age, she explains — and explaining why she decided to join the Army after college.
What's clear to anyone with a cursory understanding of advertising is that the U.S. Army realizes uplifting stories can be powerful selling tools and that it needs to be inclusive if it wants to attract the best and brightest recruits.
Instead, Cruz pushes the narrative that the Russia's display of stern-looking white dudes in uniform is laudable while telling diverse stories in ad spots is snipping the balls off of U.S. fighting forces.
The screed comes roughly two months after Cruz took to Twitter to defend Fox News' Tucker Carlson for a sexist commentary in which he claimed the U.S. military was becoming too feminine. At the time, veterans dogpiled both Cruz and Carlson, pointing out that neither ever served in the military.
Unsurprisingly, Cruz's Senate colleague Tammy Duckworth, a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel who lost both legs in the Iraq War, took offense to his latest tweet.
Not only did she push back at Cruz's insinuation that Russia's military was superior, she also pointed out how problematic it is for him to go down that path considering his role in instigating the January 6 insurrection in the U.S. Capitol.
Holy crap.
— Tammy Duckworth (@TammyDuckworth) May 20, 2021
Perhaps a U.S. Senator shouldn't suggest that the *Russian* military is better than the American military that protected him from an insurrection he helped foment? https://t.co/Ja3P78wnrv
In case Duckworth's takedown was a little too subtle, the left-leaning veterans group VoteVets went ahead and invoked the T-word just to let Cruz know precisely where it stands on the matter.
Ted Cruz attacks a US Army soldier for telling her story, says he prefers Russians. Because Ted Cruz is a sedition-loving traitor. https://t.co/UOveTXSxzk
— VoteVets (@votevets) May 20, 2021
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