White House taps coordinator to fight 'book bans'
The 'Outnumbered' panel discussed the parental movement to rid schools of sexually explicit books and how the Biden administration is pushing back on what they deem as 'book bans.'
The White House is facing new backlash from conservatives after announcing a "book ban" coordinator. "Outnumbered" panelists harshly criticized the Biden administration’s move, labeling the new coordinator as more of a "porn enforcer."
In an official statement June 8, the White House announced a coordinator will be appointed to address the threat posed by the bans on books in school libraries. The announcement came as part of an initiative to support LGBT students and students of color.
"Outnumbered" co-host Kayleigh McEnany, however, characterized the move as an effort to keep sexually explicit material in schools.
She highlighted a number of books that have been challenged in recent years, like "Gender Queer" and "Flamer," which contain depictions of sexually explicit content.
"Gender Queer" and other sexually graphic books have come under fire for being presented to children, with the North Dakota legislature considering a ban on such material (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
FOX Business’ Dagen McDowell challenged the Biden White House to have a live reading of some of the banned material.
"Make Kamala Harris do it. … Because when Ron DeSantis talked about these books in Florida, the local television stations cut the feed. There have been instances when parents have gotten up and started reading from these books at, say, school board meetings, and they've been cut off because it's so offensive," she argued.
"Let Kamala Harris or Joe Biden read from those because we know how their last event went and it ended up with toplessness," McDowell explained to the panel.
McEnany then noted that the controversial books are not banned entirely.
"If you want to go buy your kid pornography, you can do that as a parent. That's your choice. You just can't get it at the public school library," she said.
ILLINOIS BECOMES FIRST STATE IN US TO OUTLAW LIBRARY BOOK BANS
US President Joe Biden speaks during a Pride celebration on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 10, 2023. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
The White House countered that removing those books from schools may create a hostile environment for some students.
"Book banning erodes our democracy, removes vital resources for student learning, and can contribute to the stigma and isolation that LGBTQI+ people and other communities face," the statement reads. "That coordinator will work to provide new trainings for schools nationwide on how book bans that target specific communities and create a hostile school environment may violate federal civil rights laws."
Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen said the answer is school choice, particularly with the significant learning loss in recent years.
"The nation's report card came out a few months ago and reported that we have lost two decades of progress in reading and math because of the pandemic lockdowns, two decades," Thiessen said.
"The idea that you're focused on gender ideologies and racist theologies and teaching kids? I'm sorry, they can't read ‘Flamer’ if they can't read."
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