### GOP Candidate Hung Cao Blames Navy Drag Queen for Low Recruitment Numbers

Retired Navy Captain Hung Cao, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has raised eyebrows with his recent comments during a debate. Cao, running as the Republican candidate against Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, attributed the U.S. military's recruitment struggles to the presence of a drag queen within the Navy.

During a televised debate, WRIC anchor Deanna Allbrittin pressed Cao to clarify a tweet in which he connected low recruitment numbers to the Biden administration’s focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices. In response, Cao targeted a drag queen's involvement in Navy recruitment as detrimental. “When you're using a drag queen to recruit for the Navy, that's not the people we want,” he asserted. He then made a controversial statement about the qualities needed in recruits, saying, “What we need is alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them, and ask for seconds.”

After the debate, NBC reached out to Cao's campaign for further clarification. Cao's campaign released a statement doubling down on his comments, with Cao stating, "I just said what everyone believes as fact."

The incident, to which Cao appears to be referring, took place last year. Second-class petty officer Joshua Kelly, who performs in drag, was selected as one of five ambassadors for the Navy's Digital Ambassador Pilot Program. This pilot program drew significant criticism from Republican senators, including comments questioning whether the Navy endorsed drag shows and criticizing Kelly’s social media presence. Despite the uproar, the program represented only a tiny fraction of the Navy's recruitment efforts.

Republicans have previously shown resistance to LGBTQ events at military facilities. Notably, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida helped cancel a children's reading event featuring a drag performer at a U.S. airbase in Germany in 2022.

Experts, however, argue that the real reasons behind the recruitment downturn are far more nuanced. Factors such as decreasing college enrollment and graduation rates, higher instances of suicide and drug overdose deaths, and lower workforce participation among adult males are seen as the primary contributors to the eight-decade low in military recruitment numbers.

Cao, who has garnered criticism for minimal campaign activities and his lack of visibility, seems to be struggling against incumbent Senator Tim Kaine. The Washington Post noted that Cao trails Kaine in the polls and pointed out the lack of a dedicated Wikipedia page for Cao.

Senator Kaine expressed his confusion over Cao's contentious remarks. “I didn't really understand my opponent's argument,” Kaine admitted. “He went all around the block, and I'm not sure what his point was about DEI.”