‘That Is a Lazy Argument, Just Answer the Question’: CNN Anchor Clashes With TX Republican Over Critical Race Theory

CNN’s Victor Blackwell confronted a Texas Republican Tuesday who led the push to ban schools from teaching critical race theory. Legislation banning is awaiting the signature of Governor Greg Abbott.

Blackwell asked State Representative Steve Toth why this is a priority in the first place.

Toth said critical race theory “is about blaming children today in the classroom” and held up a copy of the book Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness he said “was found in one of the schools.”

“I don’t know that a discussion about slavery blames the children in the class,” Blackwell said.

Toth said he’s not against talking about slavery or Jim Crow.

Blackwell went through some of the details of the bill, asking why teachers should not be “teach[ing] what is relevant in the country today.”

“Don’t teachers lose credibility if they see an insurrection but teachers are not compelled to discuss what is happening at the Capitol or give context to what’s happening in the country?” he asked. “We’ll get to the second element of how they do that, but shouldn’t they be compelled to at least teach what is happening in the world or some give information about what’s happening in the world around them?”

Toth responded by starting to say, “But that’s the problem. You guys, the left, you are the left, CNN is the left, you guys have completely lost…”

“Sir, that is a lazy argument,” Blackwell responded. “Just answer the question.”

“It is not a lazy argument, it’s clear,” Toth said.

He accused CNN of talking about the Capitol riots and the rioting in Portland from a “slanted view” toward “Marxism.”

“Your bill does not address CNN,” Blackwell said. “There’s not a student in Texas who’s going to learn anything more about you slamming CNN. Answer the question. Why shouldn’t teachers be compelled to teach about the widely debated issues of the day?”

“They can’t be compelled to teach it from a leftist point of view,” Toth said.

They continued clashing and got into a back-and-forth about Charlottesville, before Blackwell asked Toth about previous comments he made suggesting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would approve of the bill.

Toth pointed to Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech and what he said about judging people by the content of their character, before continuing, “We have people in the world today like Mayor [Lori] Lightfoot that have said I’m not going to grant interviews to white reporters. You’ve got Kamala Harris yesterday that comes out and says if you don’t support HR 1, you’re a white supremacist.”

Blackwell brought up recent tweets from Bernice King calling out people invoking her father “to excuse not working to eradicate racism.”

So many evoke #MLK to maintain inhumanity and injustice. But he taught about and worked to eradicate what he called the Triple Evils of Racism, Militarism and Poverty. And he wasn’t a purveyor of negative peace, which seeks order, while injustice remains. That’s not nonviolence.

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) June 4, 2021

Don’t use my father to justify banning teaching about racism in U.S. schools.

He said this:

“The roots of racism are very deep in America. Historically, it was so acceptable in the national life that today it still only lightly burdens the conscience.” #MLK pic.twitter.com/X96noJHn2r

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) June 4, 2021

Toth responded by saying “we’re not asking people not to teach about racism” and added, “My bill does not encourage not teaching the past.”

You can watch above, via CNN.