AFT Reacts to Trump's Speech

For Immediate Release
February 28, 2017
Contact:
Michael Heenan
202-577-3941
mheenan@aft.org
www.aft.org

AFT Reacts to Trump’s Speech

WASHINGTON— Statement from American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten in response to President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress:   "While President Trump's rhetoric was more presidential—including, finally, a denunciation of hate—his agenda remained unchanged: cutting taxes for the wealthy, ripping healthcare away from millions of Americans, seeing education as a commodity that can be voucherized or privatized, and blaming immigrant communities for all our country’s challenges. He failed to lift up public education or even mention the role of higher education in preparing kids for the jobs of today and tomorrow. And he’s taken the slogans of the labor movement by calling for hiring and buying American without offering real details on how to create good middle-class jobs. There continues to be a big difference between what President Trump says and what he does.  "With all the good our public schools are doing, it was disappointing that the president couldn’t lift up any of them—like the school I saw today in Peoria, Ill., where teachers, their union, and Republicans and Democrats are finding common ground to make sure kids can learn the skills they need to find good jobs and move this community forward."  ###

Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten