Former SOCOM head says Navy SEAL congressman's action video of himself battling antifa is 'embarrassing' and looks like an 'SNL' skit

• Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, released an action video on Sunday of himself parachuting into Georgia and fighting antifa activists in support of Republican Senate candidates.
• The video is intended to support Sens. David Purdue and Kelly Loeffler, who are running against Democratic opponents in runoff elections next month, seeking to secure Republican control of the Senate.
• Retired Gen. Raymond Thomas, a former head of US Special Operations Command, called the video "embarrassing" and said he thought it was a "Saturday Night Live" skit.

Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, released an action video on Sunday of himself parachuting into Georgia and fighting antifa activists in support of Republican Senate candidates.

Retired US Army Gen. Raymond "Tony" Thomas, who led Special Operations Command when Crenshaw was in the military, wrote on Twitter that he thought the video was a "Saturday Night Live" or Comedy Central skit when he first watched it.

He said the video was "embarrassing" and suggested that Crenshaw's attempt to persuade US voters with martial skills and name-calling rather than policy proposals debased American politics.

The video starring Crenshaw, a Republican who represents Texas' 2nd District, is called "Georgia Reloaded" and follows a video he made before the election in November called "Texas Reloaded."

That video ad shows Crenshaw receiving a secret mission to "save Texas" and is self-described as the "greatest joint campaign ad in history." After receiving mock orders, he parachutes into his state, where he recruits a team of local conservative leaders, all of whom have national security or military backgrounds.

In the "Georgia Reloaded" video, Crenshaw goes on another mission to combat "far-left activists" the video identifies as lawmakers like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, among others, by rallying support for "American patriots," in this case Georgia Sens. David Purdue and Kelly Loeffler. He also fights actors pretending to be members of antifa, a loose organization of left-wing anti-fascist activists.

Backed by other prominent Republicans like Crenshaw, Purdue and Loeffler are working to win over voters ahead of runoff elections on January 5 against their Democratic opponents Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. The outcomes will determine which party controls the Senate.

In a subsequent tweet of the video, Crenshaw mocked some progressives for their reactions to it.

"Donations raised from this video? Over $100,000 so far," Crenshaw tweeted Monday. "Driving the left absolutely insane? Priceless." In another, he wrote that "this video is driving the left absolutely mad."

While the different video ads of Crenshaw engaging in politics-related combat are not real, he has been in actual combat. In 2012, on his third deployment to the Middle East as a member of SEAL Team 3, he was wounded by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. He lost his right eye.

Despite the injury, for which he was awarded a Purple Heart, he continued to serve for another four years in the armed forces for a total of 10 years. Crenshaw ran for Congress in 2018 and replaced Republican Rep. Ted Poe.

Thomas, who weighed in on the video Monday, has also been a part of several combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and parts of Central America. The general retired from active duty in March 2019.