Obama: School issues are 'phony culture wars'
The panel offers reaction and analysis on 'The Five'
President Obama enraged some Virginia parents when he told a Richmond crowd that the controversies wracking curriculum and school boards in the Old Dominion and elsewhere are "phony trumped-up culture wars" being inordinately propagated by "right-wing media", but the panel on "The Five" said it was the Illinois Democrat himself who started the proverbial ‘war’ he is trying to downplay.
With former Gov. Terry McAuliffe seated behind him, Obama encouraged the crowd to vote for the Democrat while Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin is ignoring actual "serious problems." "That's a shame," the former president said.
On "The Five", host Jesse Watters compared Obama to Attorney General Merrick Garland, in that Obama does not understand a pressing topic because he is likely only receiving one-sided information.
Virginians gather to support Glenn Youngkin (Tyler O’Neil/Fox News)
"The AG comes out and bombs and is clueless on the whole thing and I don’t want anything to do with it. CNN doesn’t cover the story, doesn’t even break on CNN and Fox covers it and so Barack Obama says you know that culture war?" he said, referring specifically to the outrage in Loudoun County against the school board over critical race theory and transgender curriculum.
"Let’s talk about culture wars. This is a culture war his side started that his side is now losing and now he says this is a phony culture war. You don’t get to start it and then call it phony once you start losing, that’s not how this works," Watters continued.
The "Watters World" host added that Obama appears to therefore believe the outrage is "fake".
DUMFRIES, VIRGINIA - OCTOBER 21: Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (C) dances after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (R) spoke at his campaign event on October 21, 2021 in Dumfries, Virginia. The Virginia gubernatorial election, pitting McAuliffe against Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin, is November 2. Also pictured is McAuliffe's wife, Dorothy (L). (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
"Let me tell you a little bit about how business works in TV, Barack Obama, Fox News covers the culture war that you started because it is real news so people come to Fox to watch real news. CNN doesn’t cover the story and so people don’t want to go to CNN and their ratings go down – That’s how this works."
Host Dagen McDowell, a Virginia native, later remarked that she knows many of her fellow Virginians of all political stripes who are upset with Obama's characterization.
"It is a loser to try to stifle the speech of parents -- which is what they are doing, it was a threat," she said.
"[C]ritical Race Theory is taught and promoted in Virginia schools and there is plenty of evidence that Terry McAuliffe is lying about; that President Obama is lying about – and they are telling that to the parents who see it firsthand."
The panel later pointed out that, despite McAuliffe's past comments voicing concern that President Joe Biden's sagging poll numbers in the state are a problem, the Delaware Democrat will now stump with him on Tuesday.
Biden is set to join McAuliffe at a rally near the Pentagon, while Youngkin will be on the opposite end of the Commonwealth, campaigning near the North Carolina.
McAuliffe recently hosted Vice President Harris in Prince William, Va., and former Georgia State Rep. Stacey Abrams in Hampton Roads.