The United States Marine Corps has walked back its comments from one of its Twitter accounts aimed at Fox News host Tucker Carlson after he criticized new military policies prioritizing pregnant service members over China.
“We are aware of the tweet made by II MEF Information Group on 12 March,” a USMC spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “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.”
The review comes after the II Marine Expeditionary Force’s Twitter account mocked Carlson for his segment about women in the military, disparaging him as a “boomer.”
“What it looks like in today’s armed forces @TuckerCarlson. Get right before you get left, boomer,” the II MEF Information Group said in a since-deleted Twitter post, which featured a photo of a female Marine carrying another Marine on her shoulders.
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The account also responded to a critical comment saying the Marines should be more focused on China, telling the commenter to come “back when you’ve served and been pregnant.”
The posts drew immediate condemnation from some on social media, calling on the Marines responsible for the post to “resign” or be “discharged,” while others, including former Virginia congressman and Navy SEAL Scott Taylor, said they were “unacceptable and appalling.”
As the backlash mounted, the II MEF Information Group account deleted the posts and issued an apology of its own.
“We are human and we messed up,” the unit said. “We intended to speak up for female Marines and it was an effort to support them. They are a crucial part to our corps and we need them to know that. We will adjust fire and ensure the utmost professionalism in our tweets.”
We are human and we messed up. We intended to speak up for female Marines and it was an effort to support them. They are a crucial part to our corps and we need them to know that. We will adjust fire and ensure the utmost professionalism in our tweets.
— II MEF Information Group (@iimigofficial) March 13, 2021
The tweets were initially aimed at a Tucker Carlson Tonight segment in which the host accused the military of becoming “more feminine” when it should be concentrating on the growing threat posed by China.
“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,” Carlson said.
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“For centuries, our military has been self-consciously nonpartisan. In a democracy, it has to be that way. No country can survive if its armed forces become the tool of a specific political party. We know that because it happens all the time, all over the world, and the consequences are always horrifying. It has never happened here. However, Lloyd Austin is openly political.”
