Watch: GOP lawmaker dodges after MSNBC host asks him to identify 'woke' policies in the American military

On MSNBC Tuesday, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) claimed that "woke policies" are destroying the U.S. military — but swiftly tried to change the subject when anchor Joy Reid asked him to provide an example of this.

The interview with Donalds, one of the figures who briefly tried to block Kevin McCarthy from being elected Speaker, comes as GOP hardliners fight to cut $75 billion from the military, putting them at odds with traditional defense hawks in the party.

"Let's speak to the weaponization committee of the federal government," said Donalds. "We see what's happening at Twitter ... if that is not the federal government suppressing free speech in the United States, which is the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, Congress has a responsibility to investigate that. Number two, I'm going to jump around to a couple members you discussed. Mike Rogers on Armed Services. One of the reasons we have to get into some woke policies at the Department of Defense is because recruitment is down at the Department of Defense. If our military is not prepared to deal with battles in the future, because recruitment is down, shouldn't we go and investigate all of the things—"

"Hold on a second. Hold on," Reid cut him off. "What are woke policies at the Department of Defense?"

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"Here's what I'm telling you," said Donalds. "If there are issues at the Department of Defense that are decreasing recruitment, because the numbers are crystal clear at this point, and we have many members of our military who have complained about some of the programs going on at DOD, we have a responsibility to get to the bottom of that. My friend Jody Arrington wants to look into the budget and also look into entitlements. Do you know social security is going to be insolvent in 2035?"

"That's not true. It's actually not true," said Reid. "What the Republican Party and what the Tea Party have proposed is privatizing Social Security. Which would actually subject social security to the whims of the market, which I don't think people — that's not what they paid into. That's not true."

Watch the video below or at this link.

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