Ex-Trump aide Sanders defends critical race theory ban as Arkansas governor

The new Republican governor of Arkansas, Sarah Sanders, said the move to ban critical race theory in public schools in her state was a preventative measure.

The daughter of a former governor Mike Huckabee, Sanders is the first woman to govern Arkansas.

She is also a graduate of the Trump White House, where she was the second of four press secretaries.

Sanders made headlines this week when she kicked off her first term with a series of executive orders.

One targeted critical race theory, an academic discipline that examines the ways in which racism operates in US laws and society. Republicans across the US have successfully used CRT used as an electoral issue despite it not being taught in most public schools.