Carlson made his statement in response to remarks that President Joe Biden made for International women's Day. Here, Biden called for more women to be elevated into positions of authority within the military. He highlighted how he had nominated two women to become four-star generals. The president believes this action will be an inspiration to young women just beginning their careers in the military.
On Mar. 9, Carlson played a clip of Biden's statement regarding women in the military. He then compared it in a less than favorable light to China's own military build-up, saying that the latter was doing a better job at gaining strength while the U.S. military was being made to focus on the wrong things. (Related: As China's navy gains in combat power, America's Navy gains in "wokeness" – new regs put political correctness over competence.)
"While China's military becomes more masculine as it's assembled the world's largest navy, our military needs to become, as Joe Biden says, more feminine, whatever feminine means anymore since men and women no longer exist," Carlson exclaimed. "The bottom line is, it's out of control, and the Pentagon is going along with this."
The official Twitter account of the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) Information Group responded by sharing a picture of two soldiers on a beach – a female soldier carrying a male one – and writing the caption: "What it looks like in today's armed forces @TuckerCarlson. Get right before you get left, boomer."
"Boomer" is widely considered to be a pejorative term meant to insult older people or people who today's generation may see as "close-minded" or "resistant to change." It is also used as a way of shutting down a conversation.
Marine unit quickly apologizes after intense backlash
The II MEF's Information Group quickly deleted the tweet after it came under extreme scrutiny.
"We are human and we messed up," said the group in a follow-up tweet. "What was intended as a tweet in support of our female Marines and sisters serving in uniform was clearly not aligned with our standard practices or an appropriate representation of the Marine Corps. We will do better and serve the people."
"We can do better and we will collectively take a knee, review our procedures and get back in the fight," the group added in another tweet. "Our focus is to train, fight and win and we have a hard time doing that without your support."
This recent incident is the latest in an ongoing clash between Carlson and the military. Many other individual members of the military and organizations within the armed forces have criticized Carlson, albeit without using pejoratives.
John Kirby, press secretary for the Pentagon, told reporters that "the diversity of our military is one of our greatest strengths."
"We pledge to do better [for female servicemembers], and we will," he said. "What we absolutely won't do is take personnel advice from a talk show host or the Chinese military. Now maybe those folks feel like they have something to prove; that’s on them. We know we’re the greatest military in the world today, and even for all the things we need to improve, we know exactly why that’s so."
Carlson responded to criticisms by saying that his criticisms of the military are not "another volley in the culture war," but are interrogations meant to keep the military focused on its objective of making the country safer.
"Here's a reminder: The U.S. military exists to fight and win wars. That's its only purpose," said Carlson on the Mar. 11 episode of his program. "The U.S. military is not an NGO. It is not a vehicle for achieving 'equity.' It's not a social experiment. It's definitely not an employment agency. Nobody has a God-given right to work in the military. No one does, and that includes all of us."
Ted Cruz demands meeting with head of Marine Corps to hold him accountable
On Sunday, Mar. 14, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas sent a letter to the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin demanding a meeting with Gen. David H. Berger, a four-star general currently serving as the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Cruz's office said this was in response to multiple leaders of the military and their "systematic campaign" attacking Carlson.
"I am deeply troubled that the commitments you made, and the military's broader obligation to avoid political endorsements and controversy, are being systematically undermined for the sake of left-wing ideology and political expediency," wrote Cruz in his letter. "The last week has witnessed the Pentagon mobilize systematic, public attacks against television host Tucker Carlson that in substance, tone and political resonance are inexplicably inappropriate."
Cruz pointed out that it has taken the country centuries to make sure that the military was not a political force. He said this is why leaders of the military should keep out of "domestic affairs," as it undermines the relationship between the armed forces and the general public. Cruz is worried that people might perceive the military as using its institutional power as a weapon against Biden's critics.
"This kind of behavior," he said, "while perhaps typical in a military-controlled Third World country, is completely unacceptable in the United States of America."
Cruz is demanding that Gen. Berger meet with him to discuss the politicization of the military. He is also asking the Department of Defense for an answer on how it can keep other units of the military from being similarly mobilized "against the speech of American citizens or in the service of left-wing political issues."
Learn more about the recent concerns regarding the potential politicization of the military by reading the latest articles at PoliticalCorrectness.news.
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