Eli Crane, Navy SEAL veteran and CEO of Bottle Breacher, says Pete Davidson’s joke about Congressman-elect Dan Crenshaw’s eye he had lost to an IED while serving as a SEAL wasn’t the worst thing to come out of late-night shows.



“I will admit the joke and tone were not the worst thing I have seen coming from a liberal ‘comedy’ show,” Crane told Townhall. “What bothers me is how far we have fallen that these jokes about the appearance of a war hero who almost lost his life and will forever be disfigured are making the production cut to be delivered to millions on national television.”

“I get that Pete is a comedian and like all comedians is afforded a little more leeway to bring laughter and levity into serious issues and situations,” he clarified. “That being said I doubt you would have seen the great Johnny Carson or Jay Leno go there.”

Crane, after all, would know about Crenshaw’s character since they had served together on SEAL Team 3 in Iraq:

“Dan was one of the many new guys that showed up to Task Unit Two during my final deployment to Iraq. Though he was new - he was tough, smart, and very well respected by his peers and teammates. Seeing as how I know how mentally and physically tough Dan happens to be, I’m not worried about these jokes about his appearance affecting him or causing him any real issues.”

Because of Crane’s past work with him, it was no surprise when he saw Crenshaw go on Saturday Night Live. Crenshaw was able to be both comedically-savage and classy at the same time.

"There’s a lot of lessons to learn here,” the now-Congressman-elect said on Saturday. “Not just that the left and right can agree on some things, but also this — Americans can forgive one another. We can remember what brings us together as a country and still see the good in each other.”

Crane told Townhall this showed the American people how Crenshaw will act when he represents his constituents in Washington, D.C.: