Donald Trump has claimed that China is laughing at the United States for its obsession with being ‘woke’, and mocking the country for its soul-searching over the Dr Seuss comic books.
The former president was asked on Fox News on Monday why he continued to weigh-in on current affairs, defying the tradition that previous leaders refrain from getting involved.
Trump said he felt he needed to air his views, because the Biden administration and progressive politicians are ‘destroying our country.’
He highlighted the decision by the publishers of the Dr Seuss books to cease publication of six titles, which critics said contained racist and culturally insensitive imagery.
Dr. Seuss childrens’ books, from left, ‘If I Ran the Zoo,’ ‘And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,’ ‘On Beyond Zebra!’ and ‘McElligot’s Pool’ are displayed. These four were removed
Scrambled Eggs Super! by Dr. Seuss was also removed from the list. On Beyond Zebra by Dr. Seuss is also no longer getting published
The company said the books contained content that was ‘hurtful and wrong.’
Trump said: ‘They’re going to destroy it with tax increases the likes of which nobody has ever seen before, in order to accomplish the Green New Deal nonsense.
‘They’re destroying it with “woke”.
The former president was seen playing golf in Florida on Friday near his Mar-a-Lago home
‘When China looks at woke, they see the biggest problem we have is Dr Seuss.
‘In the meantime, they’re building factories and trying to kill us in so many different ways. They laugh at us.’
Trump, 74, said that the Chinese saw the U.S. as ‘stupid’ for ‘taking down the statues to great heroes and so many other things.’
The publishers’ decision to pull certain Dr Seuss books from circulation has enraged conservatives, who see it as an example of ‘cancel culture.’
The six books going out of print are ‘And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,’ ‘If I Ran the Zoo,’ ‘McElligot’s Pool,’ ‘On Beyond Zebra!,’ ‘Scrambled Eggs Super!,’ and ‘The Cat’s Quizzer.’
More than 1.2 million copies of stories by the late children’s author sold in the first week of March – more than quadruple from the week before – following the news that his estate was pulling the six titles.
‘The Cat in the Hat’ sold more than 100,000 copies, compared to just 17,000 in the previous week.
‘Green Eggs and Ham’ topped 90,000 copies, and ‘One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish’ sold around 88,000.
Donald Trump appeared on Fox News on Monday to discuss ‘woke’ America
According to NPD BookScan, which tracks around 85% of retail sales, the top sellers weren’t even the books being withdrawn. ‘The Cat in the Hat’ sold more than 100,000 copies, compared to just 17,000 in the previous week. ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ topped 90,000 copies
Dr Seuss was born on March 2, 1904, and sales traditionally go up during his birthday week.
But this year they likely received an extra shot because of those most opposed to the estate’s decision.
‘These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,’ Dr Seuss Enterprises said in a statement explaining why it was stopping their publication.
The books, originally published between 1937 and 1976, contain numerous caricatures of Asian and Black people that incorporate stereotypes that have been criticized as racist.
During his presidency, Trump was a vocal critic of ‘cancel culture’ and efforts to remove statues of historical figures from college campuses and other public venues.
‘I do it because I want to do what’s right and they are destroying our country,’ Trump added.
