NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – As topics go, it was a long way from the earlier discussions of education, inflation and immigration during Wednesday night’s US Senate debate at Norfolk State University.
Republican challenger and Navy veteran Hung Cao used a question on military recruiting to charge headlong into the culture wars.
“When you’re using a drag queen to recruit for the Navy, that’s not the people we want,” Cao said, drawing the most audible reaction from the audience to that point.
Cao delivered a shot across the bow to the Defense Department’s effort to broaden its appeal. Yeoman Second Class Josh Kelly has seven years in with the Navy and he’s also a drag queen.
“Even now, I never thought I’d be able to do drag and serve at the same time,” Kelly told WAVY sister station WPIX in New York.
But Kelly, or Harpy Daniels as they’re known in drag, did wear both hats at once. The Navy gave them a six-month hitch as a digital ambassador.
Cao prefers recruits with a stronger appetite for the warrior mold.