Former President Donald Trump launched a direct culture war in America’s classrooms Thursday, calling in a video for the certification of “patriotic teachers,” the “radical” firing and the “direct election” of principals by student parents.
The declared Republican presidential candidate also demanded that funding be cut for schools teaching “critical race theory, gender ideology or other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content,” as defined by him.
Trump called for the creation of a “new credentialing body” that would “include teachers who embody patriotic values” while “radicals, zealots and Marxists” (and “pink-haired communists”) would be fired. (Trump has hailed the rebels on January 6, 2021, as “great patriots.”)
He also called for an investigation into school districts that engaged in discrimination based on race, including among Asian American students. Ironically, Trump himself has repeatedly fired anti-Asian fire at Republican Senator Mitch McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, a former transportation secretary.
The video, which was posted on Twitter, may have caused an uproar on the social media platform.
Some posters referred to Trump University (which has never been certified as a school of any kind) which promises to teach adult students how to become successful entrepreneurs. Trump eventually paid $25 million to settle claims that students were defrauded by the operation.