McCarthy: Critical race theory ‘goes against everything Martin Luther King Jr. taught us’

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said on Tuesday that the teaching of critical race theory goes against what civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. taught. 

“Critical race theory goes against everything Martin Luther King has ever told us, don’t judge us by the color of our skin, and now they’re embracing it,” McCarthy said in an interview with BlazeTV host Dave Rubin. “Right, they’re going backwards.”

McCarthy also told Rubin that he predicts the GOP will regain control of the House following the 2022 midterm elections based on trends he’s seeing across the country.

“The next election is going to be big, right, because all these things about defunding the police. They’re all … these Democrat policies that are now going in place we’re seeing the outcome,” McCarthy told Rubin. “The woke-ism, the open border, the inflation … where we’re going to have the biggest victory … schoolboards.”

McCarthy shared a clip of his interview, tweeting, “Critical Race Theory goes against everything Martin Luther King Jr. taught us—to not judge others by the color of their skin. The Left is trying to take America backward.”

Critical Race Theory goes against everything Martin Luther King Jr. taught us—to not judge others by the color of their skin. The Left is trying to take America backward. pic.twitter.com/ZUx9Wu319Q

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) July 12, 2021

McCarthy cited King, the famed civil rights activist who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and was one of the main leaders who who pushed for the passing of the 1965 Civil Rights Act.  

McCarthy’s comments come amid several GOP-led states that have enacted new laws banning or limiting the teaching of critical race theory, an area of academia that examines the notion that racism is baked into American laws and institutions.