Biden Goes After GOP for Book Bans

In the midst of the White House’s celebration for the 2023 Teacher of the Year, Rebecka Peterson, President Joe Biden leveraged the moment to take a swipe at the GOP over book bans, according to the Washington Examiner.

“As a student of history,” Biden told a crowd on Monday, “I never thought I’d be a president who was fighting against elected officials trying to ban and banning books.”

“Empty shelves don’t help kids learn very much. And I’ve never met a parent who wants a politician dictating what their kid can learn, what they can think, and who they can be.”

According to the American Library Association (ALA), “Censors targeted 2,571 unique titles in 2022, a 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021. Of those titles, the vast majority were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community or by and about Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color.”

After his remarks on book bans, the president then moved to underscore pressing for more gun control reforms.

“Did you ever think you would have to teach kids to duck and cover? We used to do that a hundred years ago because of nuclear war,” Biden added.