Timeline: Explaining The ‘Tucker Carlson vs. The Pentagon’ Feud
In recent days, the latest feud to dominate social media is the apparent battle between Fox News’ Tucker Carlson and … the Pentagon. With people on either side of the political aisle rallying to attack or defend Carlson, and members of the legacy media trying to use it to further distract from the radical policies of the Biden administration, it seems necessary to unpack the “Tucker Carlson vs. The Pentagon” timeline to understand what happened.
March 10 – Tucker Carlson criticizes military for focusing on “wokeness”
Speaking during the monologue segment of his show, Tucker Carlson criticized Joe Biden for failing to pay adequate attention to the military threat posed by China. Specifically, Carlson called out Biden’s role in focusing on “wokeness,” rather than military efficacy.
Before offering his comments, Carlson shared a clip of Biden calling on the military to update various procedures and regulations.
“Some of it’s relatively straightforward work where we’re making good progress. Designing body armor that fits women properly, tailoring combat uniforms for women, creating maternity flight suits, updating requirements for their hairstyles,” Biden said.
“So we’ve got new hairstyles and maternity flight suits. Pregnant women are going to fight our wars. It’s a mockery of the U.S. military,” Carlson responded. “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. The bottom line is, it’s out of control and the Pentagon is going along with this. Again, this is a mockery of the U.S. military and its core mission which is winning war.”
March 11 – The Pentagon reacts to Carlson’s statements
Soon after, the US Department of Defense published a piece titled, “Press Secretary Smites Fox Host That Dissed Diversity in U.S. Military.”
“The United States military is the greatest the world has ever seen because of its diversity, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said during a news briefing this morning,” the piece began.
“Kirby addressed this because a Fox cable show host used his show to denigrate the contributions of women in the military and to say the Chinese military is catching up to the U.S. military because it does not allow women to serve in the percentage the United States does.
Kirby addressed the insults to the entire U.S. military straight on. “I want to be very clear right up front, that the diversity of our military is one of our greatest strengths,” he said. “I’ve seen it for myself in long months at sea and in the combat waged by our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’ve seen it up on Capitol Hill just this past month. And I see it every day here right at the Pentagon.”
Kirby shared a personal note. “One of the best decisions I ever made was becoming a Navy spouse myself, married to a terrific young naval officer who gave birth to our first child, and then went right back to work doing civil engineering for an air force base in Jacksonville,” he said.
Kirby reiterated Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III’s assertion that the American military works best when it represents all the American people. This is more than just having token minorities but having “the moral courage to include other perspectives and ideas into our decision making — perspectives that as the secretary himself noted Monday, are based on lived experience,” Kirby said. “It’s that experience and the professionalism and commitment of our people that has always been our decisive advantage.”
No job in the military is barred to women, the press secretary noted. They fly jets, fight in infantry squads, drive tanks, command warships and soon to lead combatant commands — President Joe Biden has nominated Air Force Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost to command U.S. Transportation Command and Army Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson to command U.S. Southern Command.
“To be sure, we still have a lot of work to do to make our military more inclusive, more respectful of everyone, especially women,” Kirby said.
There is a lack of women at senior ranks, Kirby said. “We pledge to do better, and we will,” he said. “What we absolutely won’t do is take personnel advice from a talk show host or the Chinese military. 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.”
Speaking during an off-camera press briefing, Kirby added further thoughts.
And finally, I’d like to briefly address some recent comments made by the host of a popular cable show about who serves in the military, and what that service means. I want to be very clear right up front that the diversity of our military is one of our greatest strengths. I’ve seen it for myself in long months at sea and in the combat waged by our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’ve seen it up on Capitol Hill just this past month, and I see it every day here right at the Pentagon. One of the best decisions I ever made was becoming a Navy spouse myself; married to a terrific young naval officer who gave birth to our first child, and then went right back to work doing civil engineering for an airbase in Jacksonville.
We are better and more effective not only when we represent the American people — all the American people — but also, when we have the moral courage to include other perspectives and ideas into our decision-making; perspectives that, as the secretary himself noted Monday, are based on lived experience. It’s that experience, and the professionalism and commitment of our people, that has always been our decisive advantage.
A major but specific contributor to that advantage are the women who serve, civilian and military alike, and today, they serve in just about every skill set we put to sea and in the field. They’re flying fighter jets and commanding warships. They’re leading troops on the ground. They’re making a difference in everything we do because of what they bring to the effort.
To be sure, we still have a lot of work to do to make our military more inclusive, more respectful of everyone, especially women. We’re proud that two great leaders like Generals Van Ovost and Richardson have been nominated to combatant command, but we recognize the lack of female leadership across the senior ranks. We pledge to do better and we will.
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.
Tucker Carlson responded on Twitter, promising a response.
This afternoon, the Department of Defense issued a press release attacking this show: “Press secretary smites Fox Host.” Like we’re a hostile foreign power. Remarkable. We’ll respond at 8pm ET on #FoxNews
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 11, 2021
Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant Scott H. Stalker, the Command Senior Enlisted Leader (CSEL) of the U.S. Space Command, used his official Twitter account to criticize Carlson, citing his lack of military experience.
Drama TV – my response to Mr. Carlson’s comments on women in the Armed Forces. @TuckerCarlson pic.twitter.com/acix7CFLO9
— U.S. Space Command, Command Senior Enlisted Leader (@US_SpaceComCSEL) March 11, 2021
As reported by the Daily Wire, “a segment of the U.S. Marines — II MEF Information Group — directly called out Carlson on its official government Twitter account, writing: ‘Get right before you get left, boomer.’”
II MEF Information Group “then responded to criticism of its highly controversial post by writing: ‘Come back when you’ve served and been pregnant.’”
March 11 – “Tucker Carlson Shreds Biden Administration For Using U.S. Military To Attack His Show”
Tucker Carlson responded the following day on his show.
“Joe Biden was elected as a moderate who was going to stay the course, return this country to normalcy. It turns out Biden is changing the United States faster than any president ever has in American history. Our job on this show is to pay attention to exactly how Joe Biden is changing it. The New York Times isn’t going to tell you, we think you have a right to know. Now, not every change that Joe Biden makes will matter over time, [despite] all the huffing and puffing, a lot things that presidents do are quickly forgotten. Some of the things Joe Biden promises, won’t happen. Others are just symbolic ring kissing, designed to appease the interest groups that got him elected. But some of Biden’s changes are very real, and they matter very much. Nothing matters more than what Joe Biden does to our U.S. military. Our military is the last functional institution of any size in this country. It’s the last institution most people trust and respect. It is by far the most important. A weak military means no country. Period. So on Monday, when we heard Joe Biden pledge to bring in, quote, ‘intensity of purpose and mission to really change the culture and habits of the US military,’ we paid attention to it.”
Carlson then played a video of Biden talking of “good progress” being made.
“‘Creating maternity flight suits,’ maybe those suits had been around for a while, we’d never heard of them,” Carlson continued.
“But here was the president of the United States promoting them at a press conference. And that phrase stuck out, not because we have some hateful bias against pregnant women flying military jets, we’re pro pregnancy, as we often say, we’re also open minded. Maybe pregnant women make the best pilots. The Department of Defense measures everything. So there’s got to be extensive research on this question. If the Pentagon can show that pregnant pilots are the best, we will be the first to demand an entire Air Force of pregnant pilots. The problem is we’re pretty confident that Joe Biden hasn’t asked to see those numbers. We bet money that Joe Biden never even thought to ask.
The rest of us depend on the U.S. military to protect our families and protect the country itself. But Joe Biden doesn’t see it that way. Finding the most effective military pilots or infantry officers or SEAL teams is not his priority. It’s not even close to his priority. Identity politics is Joe Biden’s priority. It’s all that matters. You see this attitude throughout the U.S. government as well as in the corporate world, key positions filled on the basis of physical appearance, without any reference to ability or experience. Now you can get by with that if you’re Citibank, which now cares more about wokeness than about banking. They can explain the result to their shareholders 10 years from now. But it is not fine, if your only job is to protect the United States from people who want to kill the rest of us. That is the worst kind of dereliction of duty. Yet it’s happening right now on an enormous scale. Just this week, the Biden administration announced that the Pentagon will pay for gender reassignment surgery for active duty personnel.
How do sex changes in the military make this country safer? That’s not a trick question. It’s not another volley in the culture war. It’s the only question that matters, literally the only question that matters. But no one bothered to ask it, probably because no one can remember why the US military exists. Here’s a reminder, the US military exists to fight and win wars. That’s its only purpose. The US 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 then includes all of us. If you ever hear this show whine that Delta Force is discriminating against punchy 51 year old cable news hosts, you’ll know that we have lost the thread because it’s not about us. It’s about the country. Making people feel valued and included is a good thing, it is not the point of the US military. It cannot be the point of the US military or else we’re done.”
In an opinion piece adapted from his show, Carlson wrote, “The rest of us depend on the U.S. military to protect our families and to protect the country itself. Joe Biden doesn’t see it that way. Finding the most effective military pilots — or infantry officers, or SEAL teams — is not his priority. It’s not even close to his priority. Identity politics is Joe Biden’s priority. It’s all that matters.”
“You see this attitude throughout the U.S. government, as well as in the corporate world. Key positions filled on the basis of physical appearance, without any reference to ability or experience. Now, you can get by with that if you’re Citibank, which now cares more about wokeness than about banking. (They can explain the results to their shareholders ten years from now.) But it is not fine if your only job is to protect the United States from people who want to kill the rest of us. That is the worst kind of dereliction of duty,” Carlson continued.
“Yet it’s happening right now on an enormous scale. Just this week, the Biden administration announced that the Pentagon will pay for gender reassignment surgery for active duty personnel. How do sex changes in the military make this country safer? That’s not a trick question, it’s another volley in the culture war. It’s the only question that matters — literally. But no one bothered to ask it, probably because no one can remember why the U.S. military exists,” he added.
March 14 – Brian Stelter describes Tucker Carlson as “the new Donald Trump”
As reported by the Daily Wire, “Stelter compared Carlson to former President Donald Trump in an effort to brand the conservative host as a right-wing radical. Stelter said that Carlson’s product is a creation of and pushed by Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch and CEO Lachlan Murdoch.”
“Tucker Carlson is the new Donald Trump. Tucker has taken Trump’s place as a right-wing leader, as an outrage generator, as a fire starter, and it’s all happening on Fox just like Trump’s campaign did, which means Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch are ultimately responsible,” Stelter said. “Every day, Carlson is throwing bombs, making online memes, offending millions of people, also delighting millions of others, tapping into white male rage and resentment, stoking distrust of Big Tech [and] the media, generally coarsening the discourse, never apologizing for anything, and setting the GOP’s agenda.”
March 14 – Ted Cruz slams Marine Corps response as “inexplicably inappropriate”
As reported by the Daily Wire, “Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) drafted a scathing letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday demanding a meeting with the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps following a tweet from an official military account that targeted Fox News host Tucker Carlson.”
“Under Biden, the military is launching political attacks to intimidate Tucker Carlson & other civilians who criticize their policy decisions,” Cruz tweeted. “Officials in uniform are being used for the campaign. I’ve demanded a meeting with the Commandant of the USMC to put a stop to it.”
Under Biden, the military is launching political attacks to intimidate Tucker Carlson & other civilians who criticize their policy decisions.
Officials in uniform are being used for the campaign.
I’ve demanded a meeting with the Commandant of the USMC to put a stop to it. pic.twitter.com/Ihl8xRJr0S
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 14, 2021
March 14 – Marine Corps backtracks
According to the Washington Examiner, “A spokesman for the U.S. Marine Corps told the Washington Examiner that “the unit is currently reviewing their internal procedures for social media posts. While the post was intended to show support for women in the military, it was not executed according to the standards of decorum expected on the Marine Corps’ social media platforms.”
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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