President Joe Biden is facing criticism after he insisted that portions of the U.S. are banning history.
During an event to announce the creation of a national monument in honor of Emmett Till, who was lynched in 1955, the president discussed alleged efforts to ban books.
“Did you ever think we’d be talking about banning books in America? Banning history?” Biden asked.
He added, “I’m serious.”
Watch the video below:
BIDEN: "Did you ever think we'd be talking about banning books in America? Banning history? I'm serious." pic.twitter.com/QsVcznEbw5
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 25, 2023
Several commentators chimed in to take issue with his claim.
OutKick writer Ian Miller tweeted, “The far left city of Burbank, California, where Biden beat Trump by 40-60 points, banned ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ ‘Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,’ ‘Of Mice and Men’ and other books because they said they were racist.”
The far left city of Burbank, California, where Biden beat Trump by 40-60 points, banned “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” “Of Mice and Men” and other books because they said they were racist https://t.co/qdlvO5zxKq
— Ian Miller (@ianmSC) July 25, 2023
“His party is toppling statues across America and he said nothing,” conservative writer Ryan James Girdusky tweeted.
His party is toppling statues across America and he said nothing https://t.co/bwSbVomNTZ
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) July 25, 2023
Another user tweeted, “Nobody is banning history. Nobody. Only perverted groomers are against taking gay porn out of school libraries.”
Nobody is banning history. Nobody.
— The Dank Knight 🦇 (@capeandcowell) July 25, 2023
Only perverted groomers are against taking gay porn out of school libraries. https://t.co/riBmHxnv51
Another user wrote, “This is just a straight-up lie. Banning books isn’t happening anywhere in the US in any significant manner. They are making up boogeymen to distract from other significant issues.”
https://twitter.com/lwisne/status/1684168208696188931
Over the last three years, several Republican-led states have implemented laws limiting what kind of messages about race can be taught in school.
In 2022, Florida passed its Stop Woke Act, which prohibited schools and universities from teaching messages about race that could make students feel personally responsible for historic wrongs due to their race, sex, or national origin.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) defended his decision to block an Advance Placement class on Black Studies as he took issue with lessons on Black queer theory and prison abolition in the course.
“We believe in teaching kids facts and how to think, but we don’t believe they should have an agenda imposed on them,” he said in January.
And earlier this month, Florida came under fire for a line in its Social Studies curriculum that says slaves “developed skills” they could use for their “personal benefit.”
