Chris Rufo blasts Joy Reid's 'language games' after barely getting a word in during heated CRT debate

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Chris Rufo responds to Joy Reid, WaPo amid claims of racism over critical race theory opposition

Manhattan Institute research fellow Christopher F. Rufo joins 'Tucker Carlson Tonight'

Manhattan Institute senior fellow Christopher Rufo took to Twitter after a fiery exchange with MSNBC host Joy Reid, who barely allowed him to speak during a debate on critical race theory. 

"Joy Reid turned the gaslight up to 100 tonight," Rufo began a Twitter thread Wednesday night hours after his MSNBC appearance. "She claimed that critical race theory isn't taught in schools and that intersectionality, critical whiteness studies, ethnic studies, and critical pedagogy have nothing to do with CRT. Let's deconstruct her language games."

Rufo called Reid's claim that CRT isn't being taught in schools a "supreme gaslight," pointing to his own reporting of "more than a dozen school districts that teach the principles of critical race theory, from ‘intersectionality’ to ‘spirit murder.’

MSNBC'S JOY REID INVITES CHRISTOPHER RUFO TO DEBATE CRITICAL RACE THEORY, BARELY ALLOWS HIM TO SPEAK

"Reid claimed that intersectionality is not related to critical race theory. That would be a surprise to Kimberlé Crenshaw, who coined the term ‘critical race theory’ and invented the concept of ‘intersectionality,’" Rufo wrote while citing a Vox report. "Reid claimed that critical whiteness studies isn't related to critical race theory. In reality, it's an important subfield of critical race theory, and—surprise, surprise—the authors of the introductory textbook on CRT also wrote the introductory textbook on CWS."

Rufo pointed to authors Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, who co-wrote "Critical Race Theory" and "Critical White Studies: Looking Behind the Mirror."

"Reid claimed that critical race theory doesn't teach that all white people are racist. But critical race theorist Barbara Applebaum and critical whiteness studies professor Robin DiAngelo say it out loud: 'all [W]hite people are racist'; ‘White identity is inherently racist,’" Rufo tweeted. 

Rufo went on to refute Reid's claim that "ethnic studies" has nothing to do with CRT by quoting an EdSource article that claimed "ethnic studies without critical race theory is not ethnic studies." In addition, he knocked her claim that "critical pedagogy" isn't tied to CRT when "In reality, critical race theory, like the original neo-Marxism, has two components: theory and praxis. Critical race theory is the theory and critical pedagogy is the praxis, or how it's implemented."

"Here's the takeaway: the political Left is running away from critical race theory as fast as it can," Rufo said. "They know it's intellectually bankrupt and politically toxic. They're retreating to language games and shell games because they cannot defend it on the substance."

Reid accepted a challenge from Rufo to debate critical race theory following a Twitter spat but barely allowed him to utter a sentence before cutting him off throughout the interview. 

"This is not a monologue," Rufo told Reid at one point during the exchange. "This should be a dialogue, right?"

"Well, it's my show. So it's how I want to do it," Reid shot back before continuing her rant. 

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Rufo later complained, "Let me respond at least once! I haven't even gotten a full sentence out!"

Reid replied, "Because I'm not going to let you… I don't allow people to just make up insane lies on this show. It's just not really right to do that."

In the roughly 13-minute interview, Reid dominated the exchange with at least nine minutes of speaking time and at least 15 interruptions while Rufo spoke for about four minutes.