White House press secretary Jen Psaki is in tears during an interview in which she said Republican leaders like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis bully LGBTQ students.
During Tuesday’s “News Not Noise” podcast, Psaki told host Jessica Yellin that newly passed state laws, such as Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, are nothing more than GOP bullying tactics.
“This a political wedge issue, an attempt to win a culture war. And they’re doing that in a way that is harsh and cruel to a community of kids, especially. I’m going to get emotional about this issue because it’s horrible,” she said in tears.
“It’s like kids who are bullied, and all these leaders are taking steps to hurt them, and hurt their lives, and hurt their families. And you look at some of these laws in these states, and it is going after parents who are in loving relationships, who have kids. It’s completely outrageous,” the press secretary continued.
Psaki added that such laws are hurting teachers and educators, and urged people to educate themselves on the issue.
“This is penalizing teachers and educators. There are so many layers of this that are outrageous, and I hope people continue to educate themselves on this because it is a bad side of politics,” she said.
In response to Psaki’s statements, Christina Pushaw, DeSantis’ press secretary, told Fox News that the press secretary’s appearance was “troubling.”
“It’s troubling that a Biden administration official would break down in tears because of a law that protects parental rights,” Pushaw said. “Why is it so important to her for teachers to instruct children in grades K-3 about transgenderism and sexuality?”
Experts say that the wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation is designed to provoke “gender grievance” among voters ahead of November’s midterm elections.
This comes after DeSantis recently signed House Bill 1557 or the Parental Rights in Education bill into law, which prohibits school staff from discussing sexuality with children third-grade age and under and restricts related topics with older children to age-appropriate instruction.
“As the parent of three kids that are aged 5 and under, thank you for letting me and my wife be able to send our kids to kindergarten without them being sexualized,” the governor said shortly after passing the law.
