Terry McAuliffe: ‘I Don’t Think Parents Should Be Telling Schools What They Should Teach’

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA - SEPTEMBER 28: Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) answers a
Win McNamee/Getty
Dr. Susan Berry

Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) caused a firestorm on social media following his comment during his debate with Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin: “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”

Youngkin rebuked McAuliffe Tuesday night for vetoing a bill that would have allowed parents to remove controversial books from their school libraries.

The former governor responded, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”

“I’m not going to let parents come into schools and actually take books out and make their own decisions,” he said.

Youngkin, however, stated, “I believe parents should be in charge of their kids’ education.”

Sean Parnell, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, tweeted in response to McAuliffe’s comment, “For a moment McAuliffe showed you what he really believes & it should frighten every parent.”

“The reality is, all radical leftists think this way,” Parnell added. “They believe they know what’s best for you & your children. They want total government control over every aspect of your life.”

Other Twitter users weighed in on what appeared to be a defining moment in the debate:

Youngkin’s team also used the comment to create a campaign ad:

As Breitbart News reported, the race appears to be close as a recent poll from University of Mary Washington (UMW) found Youngkin ahead of McAuliffe by five points among likely voters, though, when all of the survey’s respondents were factored in, McAuliffe appeared to be leading.

Early voting began September 17, and Election Day is November 2.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.