Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who is running for governor again, was caught on tape this month describing Critical Race Theory as a “right-wing conspiracy,” but a key teachers’ union ally of his says it would “be doing a disservice” to neglect teaching it in schools.
McAuliffe was asked by a woman in June to comment on critical race theory, a topic that has roiled public school systems nationwide and has made particularly strong waves in Virginia’s Loudoun County, where ongoing protests by parents against divisive race-based curricula have gained national attention.
“It’s another right-wing conspiracy. This is totally made up by Donald Trump and Glenn Youngkin. This is who they are. It’s a conspiracy theory,” McAuliffe replied to the woman, according to a recording obtained by Fox News.
McAuliffe is facing Republican Youngkin in the November race to replace Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and has persistently used Trump as an attack weapon against him, repeatedly linking the two together in his campaign messages. Youngkin, for his part, has not made Trump a feature of his campaign despite being endorsed by the former president upon winning the GOP nomination in May.
McAuliffe’s comments about Critical Race Theory came about a week prior to the National Education Association (NEA) speaking in support of Critical Race Theory. NEA has donated more than $100,000 to McAuliffe, and its Virginia arm has endorsed the former governor in his new bid for office, as first reported by the Washington Free Beacon. McAuliffe has also received substantial donations from another major teachers’ union and Critical Race Theory supporter, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).
Becky Pringle, president of the NEA, said last week when asked about Critical Race Theory in an interview with CBS News that it is important to “make sure that [students] have the opportunity to be those problem solvers we need them to be so we can confront the institutional racism that this country lives with every single day,” adding that “it’s not just about history. It’s about right now as we very well know.”
Pringle contended that “we are doing a disserve to our students” by not teaching about systemic racism. “Parents, allies throughout all of our communities are saying, no, we have a rich history in this country. We need to make sure that all of that history is included in what we teach our students,” she said, “because we believe in them and we know that when we teach the truth they will become the leaders of a just society.”
Breitbart News asked McAuliffe’s campaign if the former governor agrees with Pringle’s comments but did not receive a response.
Write to Ashley Oliver at aoliver@breitbart.com.
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