Biden's White House Press Secretary Makes False Claims About DeSantis, Florida Schools

White House Press Secretary Karen Jean-Pierre.Photo byThe White House Official YouTube Channel

At a press conference earlier this week, President Biden’s White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre took an opportunity to criticize a decision by the Florida Department of Education's decision to not include African American studies as part of Advanced Placement testing, but her criticism included false allegations about Governor Ron DeSantis and the state's curriculum, implying a block on any studies or course materials about black Americans.

“It is incomprehensible to see that this is what this ban—or this block, to be more specific—that DeSantis has put forward. If you think about the study of black Americans, that is what he wants to block and, again, these types of actions aren’t new, especially from what we’re seeing from Florida, sadly,” Jean-Pierre said. She declined to discuss the state’s actual objections, but Florida state law already requires the teaching of African American history in public schools, including the history of African Americans, including the history of African peoples before the political conflicts that led to the development of slavery, the passage to America, the enslavement experience, abolition, and the history and contributions of Americans of the African diaspora to society.

The only prohibition of teaching that involves different races in Florida involves class instruction that could make someone feel “personal responsibility” for historic wrongdoings because of their race, sex or national origin. The AP course rejected by the state Education Department contained references to Critical Race Theory, a section of the curriculum on Black Queer Studies “explores the concept of the queer of color critique, grounded in Black feminism and intersectionality.”

Another part that tackles the concept of “colorblindness” includes a recommended book on the topic that colorblindness within the U.S. criminal justice system “functions as a contemporary system of racial control — relegating millions to a permanent second-class status.”

National Review columnist Stanley Kurtz noted that the curriculum also advocates the overthrow of the capitalist system.

Reporters from a variety of media outlets have tangled with Jean-Pierre in recent weeks regarding her lack of transparency, her lack of preparation for inevitable questions on current events, including the recent revelation that classified documents were found on President Biden's private property.