Presidential candidate and Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called out President Joe Biden for opposing efforts to protect parental rights while ignoring his own granddaughter on Saturday at the Iowa State Fair.
DeSantis slammed Democrats for seeing parents as a roadblock to “indoctrination” in the school system during his Fairside Chat in Iowa, making a jab at Biden for taking “four and a half years to acknowledge” his granddaughter, Navy Joan Roberts. Biden opposed Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” bill, which bars discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade or “in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards,” when DeSantis signed it into law in March 2022.
“Did you ever think that we’d see the day when we had to actually put, in statute, that parents are the primary decision makers for their children?” Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds asked DeSantis.
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“What it goes back to, is you have the left that wants to use the school system for indoctrination of the kids rather than education, and they know if the parents are involved, that creates a roadblock for them to be able to indoctrinate,” DeSantis said.
“They want to reduce the role of parents so they can impose their agenda,” he continued. “That’s why Biden says things like, ‘they’re not your kids, they’re all of our kids.’ No, they’re not your kids, Joe, I’m sorry. It also took you four and a half years to acknowledge your own granddaughter in Arkansas.”
Biden acknowledged Hunter Biden’s out-of-wedlock daughter for the first time in July after repeatedly dodging questions about her and speaking about his grandchildren without referencing her name.
Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called the Florida bill “discriminatory” and “a form of bullying” in March 2022. After DeSantis signed the bill, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said the department would be “monitoring this law upon implementation to evaluate whether it violates federal civil rights law.”
“I want every member of the LGBTQI+ community — especially the kids who will be impacted by this hateful bill — to know that you are loved and accepted just as you are,” Biden tweeted about the bill in February 2022. “I have your back, and my Administration will continue to fight for the protections and safety you deserve.”
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