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Is Chuck Woolery pro-Hitler? Ex-TV host trolled for critical race theory tweet on Memorial Day

Chuck Woolery claimed critical race theory is based on Marxist's ideology of critical theory, resulting in Twitter slamming him for siding with Adolf Hitler

Former game show host Chuck Woolery found himself in the center of a massive controversy after a tweet on critical race theory (CRT). In a single tweet, Woolrey managed to rope in Marxists, Hitler and racism, much to the shock of Twitter users.

CRT, an educational movement that aims to identify the roots of racism in the US has been under attack from conservatives for months. Several states such as Florida and Idaho have attempted to ban it from their schools. In other school districts, parents have slammed the teaching of CRT, while defending their actions as "not racist". The theory is currently in the midst of the 'culture war' in American politics, spearheaded by the 1619 Project.

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Whichever side of the aisle you are on, one can agree that saying Hitler was right isn't a good look. Yet, that's how many Twitter users interpreted Woolrey's tweet as, leading to a storm of memes and criticism. He didn't back down though and doubled down on his claims in another tweet, before offering a clarification. 

What did Chuck Woolery say?

The trolling began late on May 31. Woolery tweeted, "Critical Race theory is based on Critical theory, given to the world by Marxists from the Frankfort School in Germany. When Hitler cracked down on them they moved. Yes they moved to Columbia University in NYC and they remain there to this day." The tweet isn't historically incorrect. According to the peer-reviewed resource, the 'Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy', the theory did indeed come to the US after Nazis forced the closure of the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt.

But while it may have been historically correct, Woolrey seemed to draw the ire of those well versed in the theory because of his anti-CRT stance. While he doesn't make any claims in the tweet, many users interpreted it as Woolrey agreeing with Hitler's stance on race. Reportedly, several of the school's leaders were Jews, such as Herbert Marcuse. When hit with those claims, Woolery simply tweeted, "If you have a different version of Frankfurt school history, I'd like to hear it." 

He followed that up with another tweet saying, "When I trend on twitter it's like every liberal Marxist comes out of the woodwork to take their shot." Later, he replied to one user, "In Germany at the time of Hitler there was a struggle between Communists and Fascists. The Frankfurt School was run by the communists. Hitler was a Fascist. Do I really have to explain this to you? I didn't agree with Hitler, I just told you what happened."

The clarification, hidden beneath a storm of angry replies, didn't catch a lot of user's eyes. As a result, Woolery found himself constantly slammed, with many criticizing him for "siding" with the German dictator. 

'Chuck Woolery hits that sweet spot for Republicans'

"So… you’re siding with Hitler, then? Cool cool cool cool cool," one user replied to Woolery's original tweet. Another replied, "I'm thinking you have no idea what you're talking about per usual. But thanks for the heads up about your support for Hitler (not that it's hugely surprising)."

One person joked, "Wait till Chuck Woolery learns about Hitler's awesome paintings. He will love this guy even more." Another said, "I feel like Chuck Woolery hits that sweet spot for Republicans -- he's not smart or insightful but he was on TV in the 80s, which is the last time they had any vague idea of pop culture." One tweeted, "Today tweet by Chuck Woolery is sponsored by the letter Q."

One user asked, "Is the game show host suggesting that Herr Hitler was one of the “good guys” in this scenario?" Another pointed out, "Frankfort is in Kentucky, my dude," in reference to Woolery's typo of the city Frankfurt. Another said, "Chuck Woolery being pro-Hitler does not surprise me."

Shortly after his first tweet on the matter, Woolery got hit with the same Lee Harvey Oswald prank that Matt Gaetz, Dinesh D'Souza and Matt Schlapp all fell for. A user posted an image of Oswald in his Marine uniform and claimed he was his uncle. The user asked Woolery to retweet the photo on the occasion of Memorial Day, which he did. While the others have since deleted their tweets, Woolery's retweet is still up, despite the truth being pointed out by several users.