Did Joe Biden really cancel ‘racist’ Dr Seuss books? Truth behind ban and book sales as Ted Cruz mocks POTUS

Are Dr Seuss books racist? The question has been troubling many minds ever since America celebrated Read Across America Day on March 2, 2021. Sadly, the answer will shock you. In  ‘And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street’, a White man uses a whip on a man of color. In ‘If I Ran the Zoo’, a White boy holds a large gun while standing on the heads of three Asian men. Not just that, it also features two men from Africa who are shirtless, shoeless and wearing grass skirts while holding an exotic animal.

But how is Joe Biden connected to the scandal? This year, Biden omitted Dr Seuss books and sparked quite a controversy. On Facebook, several articles were shared saying POTUS had “erased” the author from Read Across America. However, not many know that this is not the first time its racial undertones have been highlighted. Former First Lady Melania Trump fired back at a Massachusetts elementary school librarian in 2017 after it was claimed that the children's author's books were examples of “racist propaganda”. 

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Did Biden really cancel Dr Seuss books?

Biden faced much flak and was blamed for not mentioning Dr Seuss books. But the real question hovering over many minds is: Did Biden really cancel Dr Seuss books? White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to defend Dr Seuss after the scandal and said the day is “a chance to celebrate diverse authors whose work and lived experience reflect the diversity of our country.” She also added that the Education Department wrote the proclamation, not the White House. 

In fact, Dr Seuss Enterprises announced Tuesday that six of his children's books will no longer be published because of racist and insensitive imagery. Explaining the decision to stop the publication, the company said: “These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.” It added, “The decision to cease publication and sales of the books was made last year after months of discussion.”

Random House Children Books, Dr. Seuss' publisher, issued a brief statement on Tuesday: 'We respect the decision of Dr. Seuss Enterprises and the work of the panel that reviewed this content last year, and their recommendation.'  

Why did Ted Cruz take a dig at Joe Biden?

Contradictorily, the sales of Dr Seuss books have skyrocketed. Blaming it on Biden, Ted Cruz recently tweeted, “Who knew Joe Biden was such a great bookseller...” The Texas Mayor — caught in the deadly power cut controversy after he reportedly fled to Cancun for a ‘family vacation’ — grabbed one too many eyeballs with his post that collected over 33,000 likes. The Daily Beast editor Molly Jong-Fast retorted, “I guess we should be happy that you’re tweeting about books?”

Host and political analyst Mehdi Hassan went on to write, “They didn't discontinue The Cat in the Hat or Green Eggs and Ham and Joe Biden had nothing to do with a company's decision to stop publishing racist stuff. As I asked on my show last night: can Cruz get through any week/day without saying something ridiculous or dishonest?”

He didn't stop at that. In another recent tweet, Cruz shared the Dr Seuss book named ‘There's A Swab in My Thingamabob’ and wrote, More proof that the CCP is evil,” while sharing a news snippet that read, “China makes Covid-19 anal swabs mandatory for foreigners.”

‘Joe Biden had nothing to do with Dr Seuss' estate’

After Cruz's tweet went viral, many people on Twitter backed Biden and slammed him. “Joe Biden is in charge of Dr Seuss Enterprises now?” one tweet read and another said, “Ted Cruz thinks that Joe Biden is in charge of the Suess Estate.” A third mocked him saying, “Are you tweeting this from a Ritz Carlton?” another said, “Dr. Seuss Enterprises stop publishing six books that feature racist and insensitive imagery. It was not Biden, liberals, dems, or the left. Stop dividing.”

One blatantly said, “WTF does this have to do with Biden? He had absolutely nothing to do with the decision. Dr Seuss Enterprises made this business decision for their OWN company. That’s literally a concept of capitalism.” One even went on to conclude: “Joe Biden had nothing to do with Dr Seuss' estate voluntarily deciding not to publish 6 titles, none of which are on this list. In conclusion, f**k you.”

Born as Theodor Seuss Geisel, Dr Seuss published over 60 children's books — including ‘Green Eggs and Ham’, ‘The Cat in the Hat’, and ‘One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish’ — published under his well-known pseudonym. Not just that, Dr Seuss also authored over a dozen books as Theo LeSieg and one as Rosetta Stone.

The National Education Association (NEA) had partnered with Dr Seuss Enterprises long back but it decided to move in a different direction in 2017. The decision was taken in favor of promoting more diverse books after debates over racist imagery and offensive language. There were also rumors that the public school district in Loudoun County, Virginia had banned the authors' works but it later released a statement saying they “have not been banned and are available to students in our libraries and classrooms.” 

So do you think it is right to blame Biden for it all? Share your thoughts in the comments below.