I regret to inform you that CNN is very disappointed in Ted Cruz. This came via a roundtable discussion hosted by Jake Tapper yesterday, in which teeth were gnashed over Cruz’s criticism of the Army’s new ultra-woke recruiting campaign (see Ted Cruz Slams a Must See ‘Woke’ Army Recruitment Ad and Triggers the Right People).

If you haven’t seen the comparison video in question, here it is.

Holy crap.

Perhaps a woke, emasculated military is not the best idea…. https://t.co/8aVFMW98NM

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 20, 2021

As I wrote in my original piece on the matter, Cruz’s concerns are legitimate. Part of military might is the perception of said military might by one’s adversaries. When China and Russia see that ad put out by the Army, what do they think? Because that matters in how far they are willing to push us.

Instead of understanding that and responding in a way that addresses the issue, you get this kind of garbage from CNN.

Sen. Ted Cruz pushes Russian propaganda, mocks U.S. recruiting ad for ‘a woke, emasculated military’ @abbydphillip and @niaCNN discuss pic.twitter.com/Xqq2xTdWUn

— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) May 21, 2021

The first woman to speak insists that this is about performing for Trump. What Donald Trump has to do with any of this is anyone’s guess, but the orange man is bad and he must be injected into every single discussion. Sure, to some extent, Cruz is letting his position be known for the voters who support them, but I see no evidence Trump is driving what’s put on Cruz’s Twitter account.

It’s the second woman who really seems to miss the point, though. She tries to claim hypocrisy, based on the idea that for “decades” the Republican Party has supported the military. Apparently, she has taken that as never being able to question anything the military does? But, it’s exactly because Republicans care about the military that they are speaking out right now about the cultural shift going on within it. War is not a game, and if it’s treated like some kind of social justice experiment to make white, latte-sipping liberals in New York and Washington, D.C., feel better, disaster can result.

Further, the military the Republicans supported so much is not the same military it was. Much of the top brass are far-left ideologues, and they see their respective branches as first and foremost vehicles for societal change, not vehicles to defend the United States. Again, that’s dangerous, and it needs to be critiqued and called out. That’s what Cruz did. Tapper knows that’s what Cruz was talking about, but he’s a dishonest hack and instead plays this off as a discussion of “mean tweets” and Donald Trump (and to be clear, Tapper, while decrying mean tweets, has had more than his fair share).

Look, you show that ad to 100 people just five years ago, and 95 of them tell you it’s an insane way for the Army to recruit and project its supposed strength. Tapper isn’t incredulous to that reality, but the line must be toed. If the roles were reversed, he’d be against the ad because ultimately, this is all about politics for CNN and Tapper.