U.S. Army leaders rallied around a soldier featured in a recruitment video clip that Sen. Ted Cruz mocked as representative of an “emasculated military.”
Cruz, a Texas Republican, retweeted a video Thursday that featured Cpl. Emma Malonelord, an air defense system operator stationed in South Korea.
You don’t have to be born a warrior to eventually become one. Anyone can hear the calling.
— US Army Fort Benning (@FortBenning) May 18, 2021
Learn more about Cpl. Emma Malonelord's story.https://t.co/nK7cgcLC2Y@PatDonahoeArmy pic.twitter.com/62nnsKr5cv
Cruz retweeted a shorter version of the ad that was juxtaposed with a video of Russian service members staring menacingly into the camera.
“Holy crap,” Cruz said on Twitter to his 4.4 million followers. “Perhaps a woke, emasculated military is not the best idea.”
Cruz’s retweet was shared over 14,500 times and the edited video received over 3 million views. Following his viral tweet, Army leaders expressed support for Malonelord and her service.
U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Robert Abrams called Malonelord a “superstar by any measure.”
The Army Enterprise Marketing Office, which manages the service’s recruitment efforts, also supported Malonelord’s service and added that “it is important that the Soldiers featured in the campaign reflect the incredible diversity of both the Army and the American public.”