Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott appeared on CNN’s “New Day” Monday to discuss a range of issues, including the recent Virginia gubernatorial election, as well as Critical Race Theory (CRT).
During the interview, “New Day” co-host Brianna Keilar refused to acknowledge the evidence CRT is being taught in Virginia public schools, while Scott referenced specific examples of the concept being promoted in the state. (RELATED: Nicolle Wallace Denies Reality: Critical Race Theory ‘Isn’t Real’)
WATCH:
The debate began after Keilar asked Scott if the GOP’s “playbook” for the 2022 midterms is to ignore former President Donald Trump, hinting that this might have been Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin’s strategy in the Virginia race.
“The Virginia governor’s race, is that the GOP playbook for the midterms, basically ignoring Donald Trump?” Keilar asked.
“I think what Democrats will continue to do is talk about Donald Trump and Republicans will continue to talk about issues. Glenn Youngkin won his race because he talked about issues and I think that’s what’s going to happen,” Scott began. “We’re going to see just like in Virginia Terry McAuliffe wanted to say there’s nothing about Critical Race Theory. We know it’s true. Parents know their kids are being indoctrinated with Critical Race Theory in Virginia and Democrats wanted to deny it. And so parents showed up because they don’t like being lied to.”
Keilar immediately jumped in, saying, “just to be clear, it’s not in the curriculum in Virginia.”
That’s when Scott cited evidence from Virginia’s Department of Education website that shows CRT has been part of public schools’ curriculum even when Terry McAuliffe was last governor.
However, Keilar jumped in again to repeat, “To be clear, it’s not part of the curriculum.”
Scott went on to cite examples of the concept being taught in Virginia public schools and said he hopes Democrats keep saying that they are not promoting CRT even when the evidence suggests they do because “parents are not stupid.”
“I think parents are smart. My parents didn’t have much of a formal education, but they cared about what I learned. Parents are smart,” Scott said. “They know that the Virginia Department of Education promoted critical race theory and Terry McAuliffe said they didn’t. I hope Democrats keep doing that all across the country,” he added.
“Fine. It’s not part of the curriculum. I would like to move on with you,” Keilar said, before moving on to a new subject.
Despite Keilar’s claims that CRT is “not part of the curriculum” in Virginia schools, the Virginia Education Department does promote pro-CRT books on its website, as Scott claimed and as reported by the Daily Caller.
The website’s list includes titles such as “Foundations of Critical Race Theory in Education” that “acts to further spur developments in education policy, critical pedagogy, and social justice, making it a crucial resource for students and educators alike,” according to its description.