Pat Sajak Hillsdale College scandal explained as Wheel of Fortune host's picture with Marjorie Taylor Greene sparks online debate

American television personality Pat Sajak was slammed online after a picture of him with GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene went viral.

On September 18, a Twitter handle by the name of Patriot Takes shared a picture of the longtime Wheel of Fortune star with the Georgia politician, which was taken sometime earlier this month, as per TMZ.

In its bio, the Twitter user describes itself as a group of "dedicated researchers monitoring and exposing right-wing extremism and other threats to democracy."

The account also posted screenshots of Pat Sajak's old controversial tweets where he dubbed people opposing charter schools "racist" and denied climate change.

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Pat Sajak is the chairman of Hillsdale college

Pat Sajak has never shied away from expressing his conservative opinions in public. In fact, he has been serving as a board member at Michigan's Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian school, since 2003.

As per WKFR, Sajak was never a student of the college but attended Columbia College, Chicago. However, in 2019, the 75-year-old took over the chairmanship of the college's Board of Trustees after William Brodbeck retired from the position.

While speaking to the campus newspaper, Brodbeck defended Sajak's lack of degree despite heading the board.

He said:

"Pat is a brilliant mind. He brings a sound knowledge of the school...He can dramatically move Hillsdale forward, both on campus and around the country."

In 2021, Hillsdale College's president Larry Arnn was the central force in transforming the country's education system with a conservative insurgency.

In 2018, an early draft influenced by a state senator and a conservative group revised social studies by deleting references to climate change, LGBTQIA+ rights and eliminating the word "democratic" from “core democratic values.” However, these changes were soon restored after Republicans on the State Board of Education started raising concerns.

Hillsdale is collaborating with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in Florida to reinstate a focus on civic education and has helped design an optional teacher training program.

The State Board of Education appoints Michigan's state school superintendent. The board currently has six Democrats and two Republicans.

Arnn recently headed the 1776 Commission - a lengthy 45-page report that attacks "identity politics." It was created by Donald Trump during the last days of his administration to ensure “patriotic education."

As per Bridge Michigan, it read:

“Is it reasonable to believe that slavery could have been abolished sooner had the slave states not been in a union with the free? Perhaps. But what is momentous is that a people that included slaveholders founded their nation on the proposition that ‘all men are created equal.’”

In July 2022, it was reported that a Tennessee charter school and Hillsdale College have cut ties after the latter's president made some controversial remarks in front of Gov. Bill Lee.

According to The Tennessean, a leaked video showed Larry Arnn stating that teachers were trained "in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country," which sparked outrage among educators and lawmakers.

In a statement, Skillern Elementary school CEO, Angie Markum, said:

"In order to use our time tending to the mission of the school rather than defending ourselves from attempts to mischaracterize our efforts, we have terminated the agreement with Hillsdale that would have allowed us to use a program guide as a planning aid for our teachers."

Markum further stated:

"We do not wish to participate in media frenzies, because the job of educating students is too important for us to give attention to anything else. We support our teachers and recognize that excellent teachers are ultimately the reason that any school succeeds."

The Republican-controlled Michigan legislature is debating two proposals that would restrict how schools teach race and history. One legislation would prohibit the teaching of "critical race theory" and The 1619 Project. Tennessee and Florida both enacted similar legislation in 2021.

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Twitter reactions to Pat Sajak's viral picture

After Patriot Takes posted the picture of Pat Sajak with Marjorie Taylor Greene, the longtime Wheel of Fortune host was criticized left, right and center for being present with the Georgia politician.

Pat Sajak has not yet responded to the criticism surrounding the viral picture.