President Joe Biden is receiving fierce criticism for a speech he delivered pushing the Senate to pass voting rights legislation.
During a speech on Wednesday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) noted that thousands of public schools closed earlier this month due to concerns about COVID-19.
“We have an education and mental health crisis on our hands. Every student who is trapped behind a screen knows it. Every mom and day who is anxious about another year of last-minute closures knows it,” he said, adding, “And yet, President Biden said yesterday America is on the ‘right track’ with regard to the pandemic.”
He continued, “In what world is this considered the ‘right track’? Disrupted learning means we are leaving behind a generation of struggling students. It might be the single most destructive policy imposed on our children this century. The negative consequences can last a lifetime.”
Finally, McCarthy said, “The President of the United States could have gone to Chicago or any of the 5,400 schools that started off the year closed to send a clear signal that kids belong in the classroom. Instead, he was in Atlanta yesterday delivering a speech that was so self-serving and out of touch that even Stacey Abrams kept her distance.”
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Our children's education is not dispensable. Their futures are NOT dispensable. https://t.co/aaPlLvUFhi
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) January 12, 2022
McCarthy referred to Democratic Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams’ absence from Biden’s speech — which she blamed on a scheduling issue.
Last week, Chicago Public Schools canceled classes for four days following a vote by members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) to switch to remote learning as coronavirus cases surged.
That comes as the U.S. continues to break records for the number of new infections recorded per day. On Monday, the country reported 1.3 million new cases.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also criticized Biden for his speech. During remarks on the Senate floor on Wednesday, McConnell said, “Yesterday he invoked the bloody disunion of the Civil War to demonize Americans who disagree with him. He compared a bipartisan majority of senators to literal traitors. How profoundly, profoundly, unpresidential.”
“I’ve known, liked, and personally respected Joe Biden for many years. I did not recognize the man at the podium yesterday,” he added.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell GOES IN on President Joe Biden over his Tuesday voting rights speech, characterizing it as "profoundly, profoundly unpresidential."
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) January 12, 2022
"I did not recognize the man at the podium yesterday." pic.twitter.com/bBS1qc5C8c
During his speech, Biden urged the Senate to change the filibuster rules, if necessary, to pass sweeping voting rights legislation.
He also appeared to suggest that those who oppose voting rights legislation being pushed by Democrats are on the same “side” as Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
“So I ask every elected official in America, how do you want to be remembered?” he said, adding, “Do you want to be on the side of Dr. King or George Wallace? Do you want to be on the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor? Do you want to be on the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis?”
