'Trying to railroad me!' Superintendent gets testy as CNN host says 'you've had issues'
Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction, celebrated the Trump administration's dismantling of the Department of Education on Thursday before claiming he was being railroaded by CNN when asked about his state's performance record.
Walters, who recently pushed to have the Bible in every Oklahoma classroom, argued, "Parents know what's best for their kids, not bureaucrats. And what you're going to continue to see are states empowering families with this new freedom given to them by the Trump administration."
CNN anchor Brianna Keilar reminded him that parents have a great deal of power in public schools before discussing how key metrics have shown a drop in math and reading skills for fourth graders in his state.
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"Yeah, look, we have seen the performance of our urban students in fourth grade reading and math go up nearly 20 ranking points in the last two years," Walters said before Keilar interjected, "Overall, you've had issues, sir."
"Listen, you're going to continue to push these lies here on the network," Walters claimed, "but this is what the left wing continues to do."
Keilar shot back, "And Republican lawmakers as well as superintendents of schools who do not seem ideologically opposed to you."
"Now, that's just silly," Walters exclaimed.
He continued, "I know you're trying to railroad me here and gaslight here on CNN, but all of these things show the light, what left-wing administrators were lying about in our state."
Keilar then questioned Walters' administration skills, claiming mismanagement that left teachers wondering whether they would receive the funding they requested.
Walters remained defiant, blaming the left for instituting a smear campaign.
"We will unapologetically enforce an America First agenda into policy. We are going to stand with the president. We're going to continue to fight for these initiatives. We won't allow woke mobs. We won't allow gaslighting left-wing news networks to derail that. Our successes are clear, and this is going to be a turning point in American history.