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Newt Gingrich

Former House Speaker; Chairman of Gingrich 360

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Shame on US Navy for using drag queen sailor to recruit

May 31, 2023

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The U.S. Navy is getting flack for using a sailor, who is also a drag queen, to help attract a broader, more diverse pool of recruits to the armed forces. Navy sailor Joshua Kelley, who identifies as nonbinary and goes by the stage name “Harpy Daniels,” was part of a recruitment outreach program during what a Navy spokesperson called “the most difficult recruiting environment it has encountered since the start of the all-volunteer force.” And now, the GOP is pushing back.

As Straight Arrow News contributor Newt Gingrich says, the Navy’s tactics show just how much “wokeness” has hijacked the Pentagon’s priorities.

The Navy, faced with a shortfall in recruitment, has decided that one of their spokespersons for recruiting should be somebody who, in fact, is a drag queen and who proudly goes around ships wearing dresses. Obviously, I’m referring to a male because if you’re a female it would not be a big deal.

The idea that we believe that the best way to recruit for a warship is to have people wander around as drag queens tells you a lot about the Biden administration and how out of touch with reality it is. 

Now I do think that it may have an impact on the Russians, or the Chinese, or the North Koreans, or the Iranians because they’re going to think those aren’t warships, those are cruise ships — because they clearly don’t have a warrior-like approach. 

The fact is, you want to recruit for the military people who are willing to fight, people who are willing, if necessary, to die — and people who believe that the cause of defending America really matters. I think that this is a very disappointing moment. And I think frankly, it’s just a symptom of how bad the Pentagon has gone in the direction of trying to be “woke” rather than military.

Many years ago, there was a TV series that ran for years and years called “Mash.” It was about a Mobile Army Hospital in Korea and the Korean War. One of the characters who carried the show was Corporal Klinger. And Corporal Klinger was wearing a dress, because he hoped that they would think he was crazy and they would send him home. And instead, they said, “No, no, we know you’re not crazy, because we know why you’re wearing the dress, because you think that’ll get us to send you home, and we ain’t gonna send you home.” 

 

And this was a running joke for years on Mash. Well, now it’s not a joke. The Navy, faced with a shortfall in recruitment, has decided that one of their spokespersons for recruiting should be somebody who in fact, is a drag queen and who proudly goes around ships wearing dresses. Obviously, I’m referring to a male because if you’re a female it would not be a big deal. The idea that we believe that the best way to recruit for a warship is to have people wander around as drag queens tells you a lot about the Biden administration and how out of touch with reality it is. 

 

Now I do think that it may have an impact on the Russians, or the Chinese, or the North Koreans and the Iranians because then they’ll think those aren’t warships, those are cruise ships — because they clearly don’t have a warrior-like approach. 

 

The fact is, you want to recruit for the military people who are willing to fight, people who are willing, if necessary, to die — and people who believe that the cause of defending America really matters. I think that this is a very disappointing moment. And I think frankly, it’s just a symptom of how bad the Pentagon has gone in the direction of trying to be “woke” rather than military. Fact is, you want the Pentagon to focus on winning wars. They didn’t win in Afghanistan. They’re very, very slow and bureaucratic in Ukraine. I’m very worried about them in Taiwan. And everything we’re seeing with the Biden administration is making it weaker and worse. And this was just one more example. So Corporal Klinger, we miss you, but at least we know that you knew you were a joke.

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