On Wednesday, Task & Purpose was first to disclose the details of an Inspector General investigation on Maj. Gen. Patrick Donahoe, an armor officer, that reportedly found his use of Twitter to be inappropriate when he blasted a segment from Fox News' Tucker Carlson disagreeing with the Army for woke policies like allowing pregnant women and transgenders to serve, and proceeded to disagree with various commentators on social media. Donahoe intended to retire in July but has been assigned as a special assistant to the Army's Training and Doctrine Command.
The Army investigated Maj. Gen. Patrick Donahoe for improper use of social media, toxic and counterproductive leadership, and failing to treat a subordinate with dignity and respect, according to the investigation report obtained by Task & Purpose.
The report says Donahoe’s comments received “national media coverage” from Fox News personalities like Carlson and Laura Ingraham, as well as RepublicWorld.com and OpIndia.com, two conservative Indian news outlets.
The investigators also took issue with Donahoe’s public engagement with subordinate officers on Twitter. Investigators said the allegations of toxic and counterproductive leadership and failing to treat a subordinate with dignity and respect were unfounded.
Army spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said in a statement that as “a general principle, the Army expects all Soldiers to appropriately use social media to communicate, to demonstrate professionalism at all times, and to treat people with dignity and respect, as required by both DoD and Army policy.” Donahoe declined to comment.
On his evening Fox News show in March, Carlson criticized the military as becoming “more feminine”.
“While China’s military becomes more masculine as it’s assembled the world’s largest Navy, our military needs to become, as Joe Biden says, more feminine — whatever feminine means anymore, since men and women no longer exist,” Carlson said.
According to the investigation, comments by senior military leaders were criticized in a letter from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
“Multiple military leaders have tweeted video of themselves, while in uniform, as they attack [Tucker] Carlson, including … the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence,” the report quotes Cruz’s letter as saying.
Donahoe disagreed that his response to Carlson was “partisan activity,” telling investigators that it was an “attempt to defend’ the service of women in the Army.”
“If we… as Army leaders are unwilling to defend them in public, I think that is a tremendous threat to the cohesion of our Army,” Donahoe is quoted as saying.
Investigators ultimately said that Donahoe’s tweets to Carlson “exhibited poor judgement” and that the “subsequent media coverage drew national attention … and it cast the Army in a negative light.”
