Book-Banning GOP Governor Wants You to Buy His Book
Utah Governor Spencer Cox has been making the rounds of national media recently promoting his new book, Off Ramp: How to be a peacemaker in an age of contempt. On Jon Stewart, CNBC, and CNN, Cox drilled down on a theme that brought him into the national spotlight last year after the assassination of conservative […]
Utah Governor Spencer Cox has been promoting his new book, Off Ramp: How to be a peacemaker in an age of contempt, on national media outlets. The book was inspired by Cox's initiative to promote political depolarization after the assassination of conservative youth leader Charlie Kirk. However, his efforts to bridge the political divide have not been well-received in Utah.
Recent polls show Cox's net approval rating in the state has dropped 23 points since April. This decline can be attributed to several controversial actions, including signing extreme Republican gerrymandering laws and removing fluoride from the drinking water. In a particularly ironic twist, Cox has signed one of the most stringent book banning laws in the country, which has already banned 44 books from Utah's public school libraries and AP class curricula.
This includes works by well-known authors such as Toni Morrison, Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, and Sarah J. Maas. The backlash against Cox is evident, with local bookstores like Ken Sanders' refusing to promote his book due to the contradiction between his book's message and his book banning policies.
Written by urgent.news from Mother Jones's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
