‘You Might As Well Ban’ Books ‘In NYC, Because Our Kids Can’t Read’: Charles Payne Torches Eric Adams

Fox Business host Charles Payne laid into Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams, saying that he had no legs to stand on when he criticized Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL).

Payne, who appeared on Tuesday’s broadcast of the Fox News midday panel show “Outnumbered,” was responding to a condescending tweet Adams aimed at DeSantis, who was visiting the Big Apple to attend an event showing support for law enforcement.

“Welcome to NYC, @GovRonDeSantis, a place where we don’t ban books, discriminate against our LGBTQ+ neighbors, use asylum seekers as props, or let the government stand between a woman and health care,” Adams tweeted. “We’re happy to teach you something about values while you’re here.”

Welcome to NYC, @GovRonDeSantis, a place where we don’t ban books, discriminate against our LGBTQ+ neighbors, use asylum seekers as props, or let the government stand between a woman and health care.

We’re happy to teach you something about values while you’re here. https://t.co/o2CgOt1SES

— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) February 20, 2023

Payne fired right back, and said that Adams shouldn’t go after Florida for allegedly “banning books” when students in his own city were struggling to pass reading competency tests. According to the most recent data from 2022, fewer than half of the students in New York City’s public schools (49%) were proficient in English language arts. That number showed an increase from 2019, when just 47.4% of NYC students tested above proficiency levels.

WATCH:

.@cvpayne goes absolute BEAST MODE on NYC Mayor Eric Adams, destroys every last shred of Democrat-run city experiments

What a complete mic drop. Just watch.🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/PLKWoFTjuz

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 21, 2023

“Let’s start with ‘a place where you don’t ban books,’” Payne began, saying, “You might as well ban them in New York City, because our kids can’t read. Ban them and burn them, because you don’t teach our kids how to read, what the hell good are books in the first place?”

“LGBTQ — I don’t know any member of my family, friends, that LGBTQ — first minute they get, they’re off to Florida,” Payne continued. “They leave New York for Florida every weekend, they’ll slip out on a Friday and come back on a Saturday. Are you kidding me? Yeah, [Florida] is a big, bad spooky place, give me a break on that one.”

Payne went on to point out that Adams’ claim on asylum seekers didn’t wash either, noting that Democrats were all in on accepting migrants and letting everyone cross the border until those migrants crossed the border into their self-described “sanctuary” cities and states.

“They tell the world, ‘Get here, cross that border, and we got your back,’” he said. “Soon as they go to the richest places in America — New York City, Martha’s Vineyard — ‘We can’t afford them, we’re afraid, we’re clutching our pearls, how dare they send these people up here?’”

“You got a lot more money than these border towns,” Payne concluded, ending on the point that when it came to using asylum seekers as political props, “Democrats own this, 100%.”