Youngkin: McAuliffe is telling parents ‘sit down, be quiet, I don’t care what you think’
Virginia governor candidate Glenn Youngkin discusses his opponent’s comments on education as the DOJ taps the FBI to investigate parents and potential threats against school boards
Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin ripped into his Democrat opponent Terry McAuliffe on Wednesday, claiming that the former governor wants to put government, bureaucrats, and politicians between parents and their children’s education.
Speaking with "America’s Newsroom," the Republican businessman said that despite protests and outcry from parents regarding school closures, sexually explicit content being taught in the classroom, and curriculums that include critical race theory, McAuliffe has sided against parents.
"Terry McAuliffe has said sit down, be quiet, I don’t care what you think," said Youngkin.
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Youngkin was referring to his opponent’s recent comments regarding parents’ stake in their children’s education.
"I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach," McAuliffe said during last week's debate against Youngkin.
Currently, the race between the candidates is tight, with RealClearPolitics showing McAuliffe ahead of Youngkin by around four points.
Despite trailing his opponent, Youngkin characterized McAuliffe’s campaign as a "failure," and accused him of making calls to Joe Biden to sick the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Virginia parents in order to save his campaign.
"Parents have a right to be involved in their kids’ education—it’s actually part of our Virginia law, and Terry McAuliffe is rejecting it and Virginians are rejecting Terry McAuliffe," added Youngkin.
While Virginia has largely acted as the epicenter of growing tensions between parents and school boards, many parents have been attending meetings across the country to voice their displeasure with COVID-19 restrictions and the use of critical race theory in curricula.
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Meanwhile, the DOJ is launching an effort to combat what it said is an "increase" in "threats of violence" against school officials and teachers across the country.
Attorney General Merrick Garland directed the FBI and U.S. attorney's offices to hold meetings with federal, state, and local law enforcement leaders in the next 30 days, during which they will discuss ways to combat what the DOJ called a "disturbing trend" of harassment and threats against school officials.
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The move comes just four days after a leading organization representing the nation's school boards called on the Biden administration and federal law enforcement agencies to assist school boards.
Fox News' Michael Lee contributed to this report
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