Thursday night's CNN Town Hall with Virginia Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin went exactly how you would expect this kind of event to go when a Republican is invited on. As our own Curtis Houck wrote on Twitter late Thursday night, a CNN Town Hall is "guaranteed to be a foot massage if you're a Democrat and [an] ambush if you're a Republican." Sadly, the latter happened to Youngkin as both Tapper and his hand-picked questioners from the audience asked a variety of nasty, partisan, and downright dumb questions.
You knew from the very first audience question that Youngkin was in for a long night when a self-identified Republican Virginia teacher named Michelle Wingfield began whining to the Governor that she's not paid enough. "If education is supposed to be such a high priority in Virginia, why are teachers, which as you know are so hard to come by right now, so underpaid?", Wingfield bemoaned.
Youngkin, who was respectful and patient throughout the entire ordeal calmly responded that during his "first year, we were able to pay teachers more and deliver on that promise. A 5 percent raise last year, another 5 percent raise this year for 10 percent over a two-year period."
Next, it was CNN moderator Jake Tapper's turn to be obnoxious by playing dumb on the topic of kids being taught the racist leftist ideology "Critical Race Theory" and harassing Youngkin about examples of what he considers "an inherently divisive concept that you think should not be taught in Virginia schools?"
"What do you say to a teacher who wants to teach any one of any number of scholars who say that the condition of black Americans today can be traced all the way back to Ft. Monroe in 1619?" Tapper said while he continued to harass Youngkin on the topic.
Then came one of the dumbest questions of the night. Tapper introduced a man named Tyron Barnes who sought to create a controversy over a problem that by and large doesn't exist by asking Youngkin if he thinks "there's an unspoken culture of racism and implicit bias against teachers of color within school districts nationwide."
Later on, in the show, Tapper decided to take a break from audience questions and argue with Youngkin over gun control in the commonwealth of Virginia: "What about individuals who say there are laws that could help law enforcement keep guns out of the hands of people who would use them for harm? You could strengthen the red flag laws in Virginia...Would you ever contemplate anything like that? Tapper pleaded.
Youngkin correctly responded that "Virginia has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation, and we have red flag laws and we have requirements that parents keep guns out of the hands of young children. The reality is, if people don't follow the law, then the laws aren't as powerful as they otherwise could be."
Tapper then jumped in and started arguing with the Governor that "the safe storage law is kind of weak."
The next ridiculous question came from a high school student who would only be identified as Niko and claimed to be a "transgender man":
Governor Youngkin, your transgender model policies would require that students play on the sports teams and use the bathrooms that correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Look at me, I am a transgender man. Do you really think that the girls in my high school would feel comfortable sharing a restroom with me?
Youngkin responded politely to the student and reiterated that while nobody should be rude or mean to others, there are certain biological realities that forbid boys from participating in girl's sports.
Later on, Tapper joined in and became a trans activist himself by doing his fake "just asking questions" routine:
So I don't doubt that Sage's grandmother and Niko's dad are wonderful. But not every parent is supportive, especially when it comes to LGBTQ students, especially when it comes to transgender students. Then what?
Last but not least was a fake Republican named Michael McCabe who asked the Governor to eliminate the requirement to say the pledge of allegiance in Virginia public schools: "we say the pledge of allegiance at the beginning of each day. Yet, we cannot require the students to say the pledge, to stand, to pay attention, or to do anything except stop walking and be quiet," McCabe explained.
He then asked since "the people actually saying the pledge are the most teachers and a few students. So why not eliminate the requirement to say the pledge in Virginia schools?"
Youngkin reiterated his support for the pledge being conducted in schools.
This joke of a CNN Town Hall was made possible by Chase & United Healthcare. Their information is linked so you can contact them.
To read the relevant transcript click "expand":
CNN Town Hall
3/9/2023
9:05:04 p.m. EasternMICHELLE WINGFIELD (REPUBLICAN): If education is supposed to be such a high priority in Virginia, why are teachers, which as you know are so hard to come by right now, so underpaid? As a newly single mother, I can barely afford rent on my salary even with this being my seventh year teaching.
GOVERNOR GLENN YOUNGKIN: One of the big challenges that we have across the commonwealth and across the country is just a horrific shortage in teachers. And the reality is, of course, that historically, teachers in my view were underpaid, and it was why I made at the center of our campaign making sure that we paid teachers more. And I'm proud to say that in our first year, we were able to pay teachers more and deliver on that promise. A 5 percent raise last year, another 5 percent raise this year for 10 percent over a two-year period. But we need to do better. And we know that. Because if we're going to attract the best and the brightest into teaching, we need to make sure that they can afford to live, they can afford to live in Virginia.
[...]
9:11:30 p.m. Eastern
JAKE TAPPER: Your executive order that ended the teaching of CRT said that it would end the teaching of inherently divisive concepts, including CRT. So other than CRT, can you give us a specific example of what is an inherently divisive concept that you think should not be taught in Virginia schools?
[...]
9:12:59 p.m. Eastern
TAPPER: So let me just ask you one more follow-up on that, which is what do you say to a teacher who wants to teach any one of any number of scholars who say that the condition of black Americans today can be traced all the way back to Ft. Monroe in 1619? That it's not as if every generation is just brought forth new, that there were hundreds of years of slavery, 100 years of Jim Crow, and today is part of that?
[...]
9:14:46 p.m. Eastern
TYRON BARNES (DEMOCRAT): Governor Youngkin, do you agree there's an unspoken culture of racism and implicit bias against teachers of color within school districts nationwide?
[...]
9:19:59 p.m. Eastern
TAPPER: What about individuals who say there are laws that could help law enforcement keep guns out of the hands of people who would use them for harm? You could strengthen the red flag laws in Virginia. You could require by law parents to lock their guns either in safes or with trigger locks. And that would keep a 6-year-old from being able -- much less two 6-year-olds from being able to get guns and bring them to school. Would you ever contemplate anything like that?
YOUNGKIN: Well, let me repeat, as I said, Virginia has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation, and we have red flag laws and we have requirements that parents keep guns out of the hands of young children. The reality is, if people don't follow the law, then the laws aren't as powerful as they otherwise could be.
TAPPER: The safe storage law is kind of weak.
YOUNGKIN: This is the challenge we’ve got right? Which is at the end of the day, we in fact need parents to take ownership for what they're doing.
[...]
9:30:09 p.m. Eastern
NIKO (“TRANSGENDER” HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT): Governor Youngkin, your transgender model policies would require that students play on the sports teams and use the bathrooms that correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Look at me, I am a transgender man. Do you really think that the girls in my high school would feel comfortable sharing a restroom with me?
9:32:48 p.m. Eastern
TAPPER: So I don't doubt that Sage's grandmother and Niko's dad are wonderful. But not every parent is supportive, especially when it comes to LGBTQ students, especially when it comes to transgender students. Then what?
[...]
9:59:21 p.m. Eastern
MICHAEL MCCABE (REPUBLICAN): Thank you for being here, Governor. In our school and other Virginia schools, we say the pledge of allegiance at the beginning of each day. Yet, we cannot require the students to say the pledge, to stand, to pay attention, or to do anything except stop walking and be quiet. The people actually saying the pledge are the most teachers and a few students. So why not eliminate the requirement to say the pledge in Virginia schools?
