A naval officer in a white uniform and cap is speaking in front of microphones while other people listen in an industrial setting. — Admiral Donnelly during a Navy event | La Derecha Diario

Camara — Admiral Donnelly during a Navy event | La Derecha Diario

The rise of a commander who allowed drag shows in the Navy was halted by Trump

This is Rear Admiral Donnelly, who for two years allowed one of his sailors to give such performances

10/07/2025 18:09:00h

Editorial Team

The Department of Defense under Trump has just withdrawn the promotion of a Rear Admiral who allowed drag queen shows for years aboard a vessel he commanded.

This is Rear Admiral Michael Donnelly, whom Trump had nominated to lead the United States Seventh Fleet on June 18. Based in Japan, this fleet is one of the most prestigious in the U.S. Navy and with the largest force deployment abroad.

Under Donnelly's command of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, a lower-ranking sailor was allowed to perform as a drag queen under the name "Harpy Daniels" at events sponsored by the Navy itself.

Person dressed in a blue overall, blonde wig, and red high heels holds a broom while performing in front of a group of people watching alertly in an indoor space decorated with red and white arches with stars.

"Harpy Daniels" performs a drag show on a navy ship | La Derecha Diario

The sailors on board reported their captain's full complicity and responsibility in the actions of his subordinate. According to these witnesses, for Donnelly, being flexible with these acts was part of his "military leadership."

The events took place between April 2016 and August 2018, with the degeneracy applauded by the Democratic press. Military Times, for example, even published images of the sailor performing.

Upon learning of this conduct, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, as part of his policy to dismantle all inherited woke ideology within the Pentagon, immediately withdrew the Rear Admiral's nomination.

A man in a blue suit shows the lining of his jacket with a United States flag design while a woman next to him smiles and holds a microphone.

Hegseth leads a zero-tolerance policy at the Pentagon | La Derecha Diario

A Trump ally, key in the discovery

It was thanks to the campaigncarried out by Alabama Senator and close Trump ally, Tommy Tuberville, that these unpleasant acts promoted from the highest levels of the political sphere came to light.

In this effort, Tuberville began blocking the officers Biden nominated to fill high-ranking military positions as a method of denouncing the progressive reforms that the Democratic leadership was promoting within the armed forces.

Among those commanders whose promotion was halted in 2023 was Donnelly, where at that time there were already allegations labeling him as responsible for funding and promoting drag shows within the military.

Tuberville denounced that these actions, however, were not rejected by Biden; on the contrary, they were part of an institutional push orchestrated by the White House to ideologically reform the armed forces.

The senator stated that these policies only served to divert the Armed Forces from their main mission: protecting the United States.

Two men in suits walk down the steps of a presidential plane with the seal of the United States visible in the background.

Trump together with Tuberville | La Derecha Diario

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