A tweet written by Vice President Kamala Harris praising Dr. Seuss four years ago resurfaced Tuesday after President Biden failed to mention the children’s author when making his “Read Across America Day” proclamation.
Richard Grenell, former acting director of national intelligence under former President Trump, retweeted the post that said: “Happy birthday, #DrSeuss! ‘The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.’”
Harris’ tweet was written on March 2, 2017, Dr. Seuss’s birthday and the day chosen to honor his legacy and promote literacy with the annual day.
Biden stoked criticism Tuesday for failing to mention Dr. Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Geisel, in his address.
Both Trump and former President Obama – Biden’s immediate predecessors – had mentioned Dr. Seuss in their remarks about the day, which was established to honor the author in 1998. Former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton didn’t make proclamations, Newsweek reported.
In 2017, Melania Trump celebrated Read Across America Day by reading Dr. Seuss books to hospitalized children.
When asked about the reason for the president’s omission, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the remarks had been written by the National Education Association and referred questions to it.
The National Education Association, which organizes “Read Across America,” said on its website it no longer partners with Dr. Seuss Enterprises and is “independent of any one particular book, publisher, or character” because of the need to promote diverse books.
One of Virginia’s biggest school districts, Loudoun County Public Schools, also reportedly nixed Dr. Seuss from the school’s “Read Across America Day” celebration, citing alleged racial “undertones” in his children’s books.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises on Tuesday said it would stop printing six of his books because of insensitive and racist imagery in the illustrations.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The White House and the National Education Association did not immediately return Fox News after-hours requests for comment.
Fox News’ Peter Hasson and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.