Tucker Carlson swats back at ‘woke generals’ after criticism

Fox News host Tucker Carlson fired back at the Pentagon after a slate of military leaders berated him for comments he made about Defense Department changes meant to attract more female recruits.

Carlson, who had bashed the changes, rebuked the “woke generals” for their criticism and said he and his supporters were not “rattled.” 

“We were almost rattled. Then we realized if the woke generals treat us like they’ve treated the Taliban, we’ll be fine. Twenty years later, the Taliban are still here. Maybe we ought to promise the Pentagon that we’ll get rid of traditional gender roles on this show. Change the pronouns, defeat the patriarchy, and all that,” Carlson said on his program Friday night. 

The response marks the latest salvo in a back-and-forth between Carlson and the Pentagon. The conservative host on Monday railed against President Biden’s promotions of two female generals and remarks touting new efforts to improve conditions for women in the military, including work to design maternity flight suits and updating grooming standards to allow for a wider range of hairstyles.

“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 said.

“While China’s military becomes more masculine as it has assembled the world’s largest navy, our military needs to become, as Joe Biden says, more feminine, whatever feminine means anymore,” he continued. 

Military leaders fired back later in the week, voicing their support for women in the armed forces.

“Women lead our most lethal units with character,” tweeted Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston, the service’s top enlisted leader. “They will dominate ANY future battlefield we’re called to fight on. @TuckerCarlson’s words are divisive, don’t reflect our values. We have THE MOST professional, educated, agile, and strongest [noncommissioned officer] Corps in the world.”

“I would hope that in the reaction he’s seeing, and hopefully in our reaction here today, that he’ll realize the mistake he made and express some regret about the manner in which he essentially demeaned the entire U.S. military, and how we defend and how we serve this country,” added Pentagon press secretary John Kirby, who relayed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s “revulsion” at Carlson’s remarks.