The Republican Senate candidate in Virginia was asked during a debate about lagging military recruiting numbers and, bizarrely, placed the blame squarely on Navy drag queens.
Hung Cao, a retired Navy captain who held the position for 25 years, is challenging incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine. The pair confronted him during a debate on the Norfolk State University campus.
Local news anchor Deanna Allbrittin brought up Cao’s earlier statement ridiculing the Biden Administration for its DEI-based military recruiting policies. She hopefully asked the Senate why such policies might have had an impact on the Department of Defense.
In his first attempt to address the issue, Cao attacked Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan that led to the deaths of 13 US service members. But when asked why DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) caused low recruiting numbers, Cao blamed a drag queen the Navy recruited two years ago to do outreach.
Hung Cao, a retired Navy captain, blamed a drag queen the Navy recruited two years ago to reach a younger audience.
Pictured: Yeoman Second Class Joshua Kelley, dressed as a woman. Her stage name is Harpy Daniels and the Navy chose her to be a ‘digital ambassador’.
The role allows her to highlight her journey, from acting on board to becoming an “advocate.”
‘When you use a drag queen to recruit for the Navy, those are not the people we want. “What we need are alpha males and alpha females who tear out their guts, eat them and ask for more,” Cao said.
“Those are young men and women who are going to win wars,” he concluded his response, prompting applause from the audience.
Cao is referring to Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, who also performs as a non-binary drag queen under the stage name Harpy Daniels.
Kelley announced on TikTok in November 2022 that she had been chosen to be the Navy’s first ‘digital ambassador.’
The unpaid role allows her to highlight her journey from acting on board to becoming an “advocate” for those who “were oppressed for years in the service.”
The unpaid role allows her to highlight her journey from acting on board to becoming an “advocate” for those who “were oppressed for years in the service.”
The ambassador program, which was intended to attract a younger audience, was suspended in March 2023 after harsh criticism from former service members and conservatives.
Cao proudly trimmed his anti-drag queen response and he published it to his profile X, where it has since received more than 750,000 visits.
Reactions to Cao’s response were mostly positive, with commenters strongly agreeing that drag queens should not be used for recruitment.
Reactions were mostly positive and commenters were in complete agreement.
‘Exactly! If we’re looking for recruits, we need warriors, not artists. The Navy should focus on courage and strength, not a talent show!’ one person wrote.
A man who claimed to be a military man was the strongest supporter of Cao’s comments.
DAMN right!!! That’s the NAVY my DAD served in. That’s the NAVY I SERVED IN!!! WE NEED THAT NAVY BACK TO OUR OCEANS!!’ he wrote. “We don’t need mental cases asking for free care and operations because they are confused about who they want to be in this life.”
Another simply noted, “if this offends you… the military may not be for you.”
The Department of Defense did not mention DEI policies when it took stock of the recruiting shortage at the end of 2023.
Instead, he argued that the military is not welcoming as many people into its ranks because of “a strong economy” and Gen Z’s low trust in institutions.
Tim Kaine, who has been in the Senate since 2013, said he wasn’t sure what Cao’s point was, saying “DEI is a red herring.”
When it was Kaine’s turn to address the recruiting shortage, he quickly attacked Cao before diagnosing what he considers the problem.
‘Well, I didn’t understand my opponent’s argument. I mean, he went around the block and I’m not sure what his point was about DEI,” Kaine said, adding, “DEI is a red herring.”
Kaine, who has been in the Senate since 2013 and was Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential pick in 2016, argued that the military needs to do a better job reaching new voters.
He also emphasized that military recruiters should put the benefits of joining front and center.
“You have to convince people that the benefits of military service are enormous,” Kaine said. ‘People feel that if they serve in the army they will be left behind. No, you will advance thanks to benefits like the GI Bill and others.’
The latest poll looking at the Virginia Senate race puts Kaine 10 percentage points ahead of Cao.
The Cook Political Report also rates Kaine’s seat as solidly Democratic.
Cao ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives in 2022 in Virginia’s 10th congressional district.
