On Tuesday, Stephanie Ruhle led a disjointed "For Facts Sake" segment on her MSNBC show that claimed Critical Race Theory is not taught in schools but that aspects of it would inevitably be discussed in the classroom. She then argued that Democrats must simultaneously dismiss Republicans claims that CRT is in schools while also embracing the radical the lesson plan.
Speaking to NBC correspondent Antonia Hylton, Ruhle declared, "as we pointed out, CRT specifically might not be in the curriculum, but elements of it are going to pop up in discussions naturally, about racism, diversity. Our kids have questions."
She then asked Hylton: "Do Democrats need to make a better argument than just saying, this is a bunch of lies, there's nothing to see here? There is something to see, and it's something constructive."
Hylton began lamenting: "Democrats have not launched a robust response to disinformation around Critical Race Theory and they haven't offered a clear message to parents who’ve expressed all of the concerns that we've just laid out right there. And in the absence of them having a real stance on all of this, they've allowed Republicans, conservatives, to really control the narrative around Critical Race Theory."
Arguing that conservatives do not know what CRT actually is, Hylton lectured: "...what you often hear is that people say that this is an academic study that teaches that all white people are evil oppressors or that America is an inherently evil place. That's not what Critical Race Theory teaches."
Technically, that may not be CRT, but it does sound an awful lot like Ibram Kendi and Robin DiAngelo, who are all the rage in public education nowadays and CRT-adjacent. Semantics aside, Hylton defended CRT's inherent circular reasoning as, "a framework, for example, to help you understand, why do we still see racial inequality, housing inequality, a massive wealth gap in this country, and academics sort of working with this framework to answer those questions."
Hylton concluded by claiming that Democrats are going to have to figure out how to support parts of CRT, but also convince people it is not in schools:
They have to make clear to their base, to others, that Critical Race Theory is not taught in K-12. But on the other hand, in the other breath, they need to still be able to express some support for some of the aspects of that academic framework, right? That many Democrats do believe that there is persistent racial inequality, they do believe we need to address a wealth gap and that race has played a major historical role in the federal government and at the local levels, in communities all over the United States and so how do you in one breath support aspects of Critical Race Theory, but also make clear that it's not in schools and that kids aren't being exposed to or to indoctrinated with this, Steph.
So, according to MSNBC, it is a grand conspiracy theory to talk about CRT in schools, but when debunking GOP talking points about it, Democrats should embrace al least parts of the divisive ideology.
This segment was sponsored by Ancestry.
Here is a transcript for the November 9 show:
MSNBC
Stephanie Ruhle Reports
9:52 AM ET
STEPHANIE RUHLE: Antonia, as we pointed out, CRT specifically might not be in the curriculum, but elements of it are going to pop up in discussions naturally, about racism, diversity. Our kids have questions. Do Democrats need to make a better argument than just saying, this is a bunch of lies, there's nothing to see here? There is something to see, and it's something constructive.
ANTONIA HYLTON: Well, Steph, that is the major question right now. And what I can tell you is that over the last several months, Democrats have not launched a robust response to disinformation around Critical Race Theory and they haven't offered a clear message to parents who’ve expressed all of the concerns that we've just laid out right there. And in the absence of them having a real stance on all of this, they've allowed Republicans, conservatives, to really control the narrative around Critical Race Theory.
And to be clear, you know, what you often hear is that people say that this is an academic study that teaches that all white people are evil oppressors or that America is an inherently evil place. That's not what Critical Race Theory teaches. It's a framework, for example, to help you understand, why do we still see racial inequality, housing inequality, a massive wealth gap in this country, and academics sort of working with this framework to answer those questions. But the real trick for Democrats, because of this is, is going to be, right, that on the one hand, they have to make clear to their base, to others, that Critical Race Theory is not taught in K-12. But on the other hand, in the other breath, they need to still be able to express some support for some of the aspects of that academic framework, right? That many Democrats do believe that there is persistent racial inequality, they do believe we need to address a wealth gap and that race has played a major historical role in the federal government and at the local levels, in communities all over the United States and so how do you in one breath support aspects of Critical Race Theory, but also make clear that it's not in schools and that kids aren't being exposed to or to indoctrinated with this, Steph.
