Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, drew attention to herself with comments about the education strategies of Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL).
“DeSantis has been a disaster on education,” Weingarten criticized DeSantis during the GOP debate. “They’re banning history, they’re banning books, banning AP psych and have a terrible teacher shortage.”
“Nobody should be taking advice form him on schools,” she continued in a Wednesday post to her X account.
Weingarten’s statements faced immediate opposition, with critics pointing out her position during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she was accused of supporting extended school closures and compulsory masking for students.
Evan Power, Vice Chairman of the Florida GOP, sharply retorted to Weingarten’s comments, asserting that her actions had negatively impacted children’s education.
“You know who was a disaster for education?” asked Power. “@rweingarten is, she wanted kids locked out of schools and forced to wear masks.”
“The learning losses start and end with her.”
Another individual commented, “The people who banned school don’t get to talk about this.”
In a September 2022 op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal titled “Randi Weingarten’s Pandemic Performance Falls Short,” the AFT president had earlier written a letter addressing her detractors.
“This tweet brought to you by the lady who enthusiastically supported banning…checks notes…school itself,” remarked podcast host Mary Katharine Ham.
Karol Markowicz, originally from Russia and brought up in Brooklyn, New York, and not currently residing in Florida, commented, “She remains resentful that she couldn’t impose school closures in Florida and ended up negatively affecting underprivileged children in Democratic-leaning regions.”
In the GOP debate, DeSantis focused on critiquing the federal government’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly during the Trump administration.
“Why are we in this mess?” asked the Florida Republican. “Part of it and a major reason is because how this federal government handled COVID-19 by locking down this economy.”
DeSantis asserted that he would have removed Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leader of the government’s COVID-19 pandemic response under Trump’s administration.
