Rep. Buddy Carter, who has introduced a bill that would ban "woke teachings" such as critical race theory from taking control in the military, told Newsmax Saturday that the teachings are "divisive."
"It only leads to teaching our troops to view America through the lens of racism," the Georgia Republican said on Newsmax's "The Count." "How can we expect for our troops, if we're teaching them that America's a fraud and it's not worth fighting for, how can we expect them to fight for America?"
Critical race theory, or the belief that racism isn't only the product of individual biases or prejudice but is embedded in legal systems and policies, is a "cancer," Carter added.
"It should not be taught in our military, nor should it be taught in our schools," he said. "We should not be teaching our children this something that is divisive. The only division that should be taught in schools is is in math and certainly not critical race theory. That's why it does not have any place at all."
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has come under fire over his comments to Reps. Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz, both Florida Republicans, during a recent congressional hearing where he defended lectures that have taken place at the West Point military academy and said that it is important for members of the military to learn about many different theories without necessarily believing in them.
"With all due respect to Gen. Milley, I have to disagree," said Carter. "This is something that has no place in our military, nor does it have any place in our schools. The only division that should be being taught should be in math, not in critical race theory."
Carter also discussed Vice President Kamala Harris' trip to El Paso, saying that it was less a visit to determine the extent of the immigration and more likely was a stopover on her way to visit her home state of California.
"She never did make it to the border," Carter said. "This will be the second time I've been to the border this year, and I will tell you it is a humanitarian crisis and it is a national security crisis."
He also pointed out that out of the 180,00 people that have come across the border illegally, "60,000 of them were from. Europe and from other countries, 75 different countries."
"To think that they're just coming from Central America is erroneous," he said. "These people are coming from all over the world. And yes, some of them are terrorists, and not only are illegals coming across that border, but illegal drug...it's unbelievable what's happening down there, and here we have a vice president who is supposed to be in charge of this, and she doesn't even make it to the border. She makes it to a gas station near the border."
Related Stories:
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.