Fourth Grader's Essay Sparks Controversy

A fourth grade class in Greensboro, North Carolina,

received a simple assignment

from their teacher. Write a persuasive esse-

essay on the topic of your

choosing and then send it to someone in a position of authority.

Basic elementary school civics. Well, ten-year-old Christian Mango,

uh, chose a topic he was passionate about, electric vehicles.

I'm passionate about that, too. Specifically, tax rebates for EVs

that the Trump

administration eliminated, and he thought the White House should

bring them back.

We should have a $5,000 tax rebate be- for

electric cars because they're better than

normal cars. They're better for the environment,

you pay less, and

there's no gas.

Christian says he's worried about climate change, and so he sent his essay to

Congresswoman Republican Virginia Foxx, and

Congresswoman Foxx responded. First, she thanked Christian for his letter,

and then things took a turn. She sent the 10-year-old boy a list of

articles

from conservative outlets like Fox News and the National Review for his, quote,

"perusal about the disastrous record of policies enacted to address climate

change." Foxx then went on to lecture the child about the national debt

and insult the teacher who gave him the assignment.

Christian read part of the letter for a local news station.

Ask your teacher to explain propaganda to you.

While I will never be able to know, my guess is that your teacher will

not be g- able to give you a good

educational experience by helping you to be able to

think as they are too interested in

indoctrinating you. How sad.

Yes, that is what Congresswoman Foxx wrote to

the fourth grader.

Let me read you that part of the letter again.

"Incidentally, please ask your teacher to explain

propaganda to you.

While I will never be able to know, my guess is your teacher will not give you

a

good educational experience and help you learn to think as they

are too interested

in indoctrinating you. How sad."

After asking his mom to help explain what the hell his 82-year-old representative

was on about, Christian says he was upset that she attacked his teacher,

who,

to be clear, didn't choose the topic of the essay.

It was an unhinged response from Foxx to one of the most banal aspects of being an

elected representative. Kids write their elected representatives

letters all the

time. They go visit classrooms. They give tours of the Capitol.

They speak at graduations. Generally, as a rule, Congresspeople

don't insult the children.

But this is Virginia Foxx we're talking about, a true zealot, who was MAGA

before there was ever such thing as MAGA.

It's worth remembering when you hear, "Oh, so many congressional Republicans are

secretly against Trump and embarrassed by his behavior." May be

true for a handful

across the House and the Senate, but many, many more are

just like him.