'No resources, just threats, bullying and bluster:' AFT president on Trump's handling of back-to-school
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden recently slammed President Donald Trump for his lack of leadership during the back-to-school season, a sentiment shared by the American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. She joined Yahoo Finance to discuss the union’s concerns about school re-openings.
“Joe Biden was right to call it a national emergency and to completely blame Trump for the lack of leadership and ... mishandling of all of this,” she said.
“We knew we needed the resources we knew we needed to tackle the virus first ... And what happened is that the president in July decides, [on Twitter] in all caps, ‘We must reopen schools.’ No plan, Betsy Devos is missing in action, no guidance,” she said.
The president of the second-largest teachers’ union in the U.S. tells Yahoo Finance that Trump’s behavior is unprecedented in U.S. history — and unpresidential.
“That’s never happened in any crisis in a Republican or Democratic administration: no resources, just threats, bullying, and bluster. And now in places like Georgia, Florida, Texas, where you saw this huge surge, now they're trying to actually cover up cases because they don't want people to know what the truth is,” she said.
Weingarten says that for schools to gradually reopen the nation needs to “invest in recovery” and work together. “Do not abandon America’s communities or forfeit America’s future. These interventions will require more—not less—investment in public health and in our schools, universities, hospitals, and local and state governments. Strengthening communities should be a priority in the recovery,” she said. CONTINUE READING: 'No resources, just threats, bullying, and bluster:' AFT president on Trump's handling of back-to-school