VA Dem. gubernatorial candidate: parents shouldn't be telling schools what they can teach
Youngkin: McAuliffe just showed us he is the godfather of the current progressive Democrat Party; on 'The Ingraham Angle'
Virginia Republican gubernatorial hopeful Glenn Youngkin called out his opponent, former Gov. Terence McAuliffe for both claiming parents should not have control over their children's curriculum – while further underlining the fact the Democrat supports mask and vaccine mandates, but was caught violating President Biden's federal order for face coverings on interstate transit.
"What we saw last night on full display with flashing red lights was Terry McAuliffe’s heart," Youngkin said on "The Ingraham Angle" of their debate in Alexandria on Tuesday.
"[H]e believes that government and politicians know better for our children than parents. He wants to exclude parents from being involved in educating our children."
"Virginia parents have been standing up for the rights of their kids for the last 20 months, fighting against school boards who have been trying to impose all kinds of things on them. They’ve been asking for schools to be open, and what you saw last night was… [McAuliffe] wants to dictate what they learn, he wants to teach our children how to think, and he wants to excuse parents from all of it."
Youngkin also ripped the longtime Clinton confidant for openly violating Biden's USDOT mask mandate while at the same time supporting such restrictions for other Americans.
McAuliffe was caught unmasked in the aisle of an Amtrak train leaving Pennsylvania Station in New York on July 29 – speaking on a cell phone while standing near a placard reminding passengers of the federal edict.
"Here’s the hypocrisy of Terry McAuliffe and what he wants to be the ruling class," Youngkin said.
"His worldview is ‘I know better than you’, and yet it doesn’t have to apply to me. We saw it just a couple weeks ago when he’s been calling for mask mandates, and then he boards a train and violates federal law and won’t even put a mask on," the Falls Church Republican said.
Youngkin, a former executive at the Carlyle Group, is making his first foray into electoral politics, while McAuliffe hopes to keep Bob McDonnell – the predecessor to his first term – as the Commonwealth's most recent Republican governor.
Incumbent Ralph Northam is term-limited, as state law does not allow for governors to be reelected to consecutive terms.
In a statement to Fox News on Friday, a McAuliffe campaign spokesperson pushed back on criticisms of his comments:
"As Fox News' own poll showed yesterday, Virginia parents are supporting Terry over Glenn by nearly double digits and anti-vaccine advocate."
"Glenn Youngkin is trying to distract from what he made abundantly clear on the debate stage: if he had his way, our schools would be closing, children would be sick and quarantined, and our economy would be in the ditch. Terry McAuliffe is the only candidate with a real plan to end this pandemic, keep kids safe, and give every Virginia child a world-class education," the spokesperson said.
Fox News' Alexandria Hoff contributed to this report.
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