Army General Suspended For Hateful Tweet Aimed At First Lady Jill Biden

A three-star U.S. Army general under contract as a consultant to the military following his retirement has been suspended and is under investigation for a hateful tweet he sent that mocked First Lady Jill Biden, USA Today reports.

The first lady had tweeted about the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the United States Supreme Court, writing:

“For nearly 50 years, women have had the right to make our own decisions about our bodies. Today, that right was stolen from us.”

That led retired Lt. Gen. Gary Volesky to respond:

“Glad to see you finally know what a woman is.”

Volesky was apparently referencing the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, but it remains unclear why he chose to attack Ms. Biden for something uttered by Justice Jackson.

According to the report, Volesky agreed to a lucrative contract after he retired in 2020 that paid him $92 an hour to advise active-duty Army officers.

Axios notes that it’s rare for military officers (even retired ones) to involve themselves so publicly in politics:

It’s an unusual step into partisan politics by an official the Pentagon is paying, especially since the department typically steers clear of such matters.

Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it was a “mistake” to make a June 2020 appearance with then-President Trump in Lafayette Square. “My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics,” he said in a video message several days later.

This isn’t the first time Volesky has expressed blatantly sexist opinions:

“Volesky responded to a tweet from Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) when she announced that she would be on the Jan. 6 select committee and that their ‘oath to the Constitution must be above partisan politics,'” with the retired officer replying, “This is all about partisan politics.”

Now Volesky has plenty of free time on his hands that he can spend on Twitter. However, he’d be wise to stay off social media or else he might be facing even harsher penalties such as a court-martial and loss of his pension.