Using drag queens as an example, GOP Senate candidate Hung Cao claimed in a debate Wednesday that diversity efforts are not attracting courageous “alpha” types into the military.

Cao, a former Navy captain endorsed by former President Donald Trump, was in a televised showdown against his rival, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). A moderator mentioned Cao’s previous criticism of the Biden administration’s “growing obsession” with DEI, or diversity, equity and inclusion, and asked Cao to explain how that approach has “impacted” recruiting.

Cao detoured into his personal experience after 9/11 and argued that vaccine mandates during the pandemic discouraged enlistment even further, before the moderator drew him back to the original question about recruiting.

“When you’re using a, you know, drag queen to recruit for the Navy, that’s not the people we want,” Cao replied. “What we need is alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them and ask for seconds. Those are young men and women that are going to win wars.”

Cao’s comments left Kaine puzzled.

“I’m not really sure what his point was about DEI,” the Democrat said, adding that enlistment numbers would go up if more Americans understood the benefits of serving in the military. “DEI is a red herring.”

Cao was presumably referring to Joshua Kelley, a sailor who performs in drag and identifies as nonbinary, being appointed to a pilot ambassadors program to increase recruitment. Kelley’s participation drew backlash from Republican senators, Stars and Stripes reported. The program ended last year.

Perhaps forgetting that the U.S. military has a long history of drag performances, Cao later doubled down on his “alpha” comment to NBC. “I just said what everyone believes as fact.”

Kaine holds a comfortable lead over Cao in several polls.