Virginia
A Republican mocked a child over ‘propaganda.’ Ironic. | Opinion
Instead of being supportive of the child’s educational endeavors or simply not responding, Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx chose this moment to respond with vitriol.
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Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, taught a child a very important lesson. You’re never too young to learn that politicians will fail you.
Foxx made headlines in May when she responded to a 10-year-old Greensboro student named Christian Mango, who wrote to the congresswoman proposing a $5,000 tax credit for people buying electric vehicles. Christian sent the letter as part of a school project where the kids were challenged to write persuasive essays on topics of their choosing.
Instead of being supportive of the child’s educational endeavors or simply not responding, Foxx chose this moment to respond with vitriol, according to a letter dated May 1 that Christian’s mother, Emily, shared on social media.
“Please ask your teacher to explain propaganda to you,” Foxx wrote. “While I will never be able to know, my guess is that your teachers will not give you a good educational experience and help you learn to think, as they are too interested in indoctrinating you. How sad.”
This would be a wild response to receive as any constituent – let alone one who’s still in elementary school. Foxx – a former educator and the former chair of the Committee on Education and the Workforce – should know that the best answer to someone you disagree with is no response. Especially if the person you disagree with is a 10-year-old.
But beyond the embarrassing decision to respond in such a hateful way, there’s irony in Foxx’s response. She is clearly unable to see that the real “propaganda” in this country is coming from the mouth of President Donald Trump and members of the Republican Party. If there is anybody who knows what propaganda looks like, it’s the Republicans.
What is propaganda anyway? Here’s what Republicans have been up to.
In the interest of educating all of us, I decided to look up the term “propaganda” in the dictionary. According to Merriam-Webster, “propaganda” is “the spreading of ideas, information, or rumors for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.”
What does that look like? Well, it looks like everything we’ve seen out of President Donald Trump’s Republican Party for the last decade.
“Propaganda” is Trump’s insistence that he is always right. It’s him putting his name and face on everything. It’s him lying about an election being stolen for years. It’s harming media institutions that call lies into question, calling them the “enemy of the American people.”
It is disparaging immigrants as the source of the country’s problems. It’s using extremist rhetoric in White House communications. It’s posting an AI image depicting yourself as Jesus.
It’s lying to Americans about an economy that is clearly flatlining, that you claim is the best it’s ever been. It’s making promises you can’t deliver on. It’s claiming that tariffs will save the country while costs are simultaneously pushed onto consumers. It’s claiming huge trade deals with China without elaborating on the details. It’s saying gas prices are down when they’re not. This is all propaganda, and it’s affecting the day-to-day lives of Americans who take him at his word.
The GOP has mastered propaganda. They have convinced their supporters that they are the sole saviors of the nation, that they are the only ones who can make America great again, while they’re aggressively making it worse. Meanwhile, educators in this country have to deal with attacks on their profession while making a dismal salary and teaching children that their voices can make a difference.
North Carolina deserves better than Virginia Foxx
Christian’s mother was rightfully angry about the letter in her Instagram post.
“This is a totally inappropriate response to one of her youngest constituents,” Mango wrote. “Clearly she is out of touch. I’m embarrassed that she represents NC.”
Unfortunately, the congresswoman has a history of embarrassing remarks and controversies. She once said that Matthew Shepard’s death was a “hoax,” for which she later apologized. She used a racial epithet on the House floor in 2009. In the aftermath of the Capitol storming on January 6, 2021, Foxx was fined $5,000 for failing to go through metal detectors to get to the House floor. She’s been a loose cannon, and this incident is not out of character.
I’ve long wondered what it would take for Foxx to lose re-election in North Carolina’s fifth district. It seems that, like Trump, no reprehensible comment or behavior is enough to warrant her ouster from Congress. But the people here deserve better than a politician who talks down to anyone she disagrees with. Lord knows they deserve better than someone who chooses to have beef with a fourth grader instead of doing literally anything else that would improve the quality of life in the state.
I hope this incident peels back the curtain and shows Foxx’s constituents who she really is. I just doubt it’ll make much of a difference.
In the meantime, I’m sure Christian and his mother will find comfort in the fact that Republicans are making sure kids everywhere learn exactly what propaganda is.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on Bluesky: @sarapequeno.bsky.social
Amer Taisir Zghailat Qaralleh, 42, a dual U.S.-Jordanian citizen, was found guilty of possessing an unregistered firearm and improper storage of explosive materials following a trial in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to evidence presented at trial, Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office deputies served a writ of eviction at Qaralleh’s Springfield residence on March 18, 2025. During a protective sweep of the home before movers entered, deputies saw several firearms in plain view and secured four of them, including a sawed-off shotgun.
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia farmers whose crops were devastated by the late spring frost may be eligible for federal disaster assistance.
On Thursday, June 26, Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved her request for federal disaster assistance, which she made after many Virginia farmers whose livelihoods were harmed by the late spring frost and freeze events.
A warm early spring allowed for the beginnings of development in many farmers’ crops — but widespread freezing temperatures swiftly followed, with temperatures on some March and April nights hitting the 20s.
“According to reports provided by Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE), losses are well above the 30% disaster trigger as a result of these freezing temperatures, with some growers anticipating a 100% loss,” Spanberger’s office said in a June 26 press release.
A total of 104 Virginia localities — or about 78% of all of Virginia’s counties and cities — are listed within the newly-issued Secretarial Disaster Declaration. This is broken down into 43 primary natural disaster localities and 61 contiguous localities.
Thirty-two Central Virginia counties and cities are listed, including:
- Albemarle County
- Amelia County
- Brunswick County
- Buckingham County
- Caroline County
- Charles City County
- Charlottesville
- Chesterfield County
- Cumberland County
- Dinwiddie County
- Essex County
- Fluvanna County
- Goochland County
- Greene County
- Greensville County
- Hanover County
- Henrico County
- King and Queen County
- King William County
- Lancaster County
- Louisa County
- Mecklenburg County
- Middlesex County
- New Kent County
- Nottoway County
- Orange County
- Petersburg
- Powhatan County
- Prince Edward County
- Prince George County
- Richmond County
- Sussex County
If you are a farmer in any of the included localities, you may be eligible for emergency loan assistance, credit extensions and other relief programs. As of Thursday, you have eight months to apply for this aid.
“These programs provide essential assistance to farmers who now face the prospect of paying for inputs, labor and debt-service for crops that will not yield a harvest and generate income in 2026,” Spanberger’s office said. “We encourage impacted farmers and growers to contact their county USDA FSA office to review eligible disaster assistance programs and begin any necessary application processes.”
You can find the full list of localities within the declaration here.
Virginia
Virginia State Police seeks information on shooting on I-64 between Jefferson Avenue and J. Clyde Morris Boulevard in Newport News
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — The Virginia State Police (VSP) is requesting information from the public about a shooting that happened on I-64 eastbound between Jefferson Avenue and J. Clyde Morris Boulevard in Newport News Saturday evening, according to VSP.
At around 11:23 p.m. on June 27, the agency was notified that a patient at a hospital said he was shot earlier in the evening while he was a passenger in a Chevrolet Malibu traveling on the interstate. The man was left with non-life-threatening injuries, and the vehicle’s driver wasn’t injured.
At this time, the agency confirmed that information on a suspect isn’t available.
Anyone with information or dash cam video of the shooting is encouraged to call Virginia State Police Division Five Dispatch at 804-750-8788 or email questions@vsp.virginia.gov.
This incident is under investigation.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.
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