Former President Donald Trump responded strongly to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and a group of Democratic lawmakers after their attempt to enter the Department of Education building on Friday morning.
According to The Gateway Pundit, footage from the scene showed Rep. Waters leading the group as they attempted to force their way into the building in what appeared to be a demonstration following previous protests earlier in the week.
The protest came after reports that the Trump White House had drafted an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, fulfilling one of Trump’s key campaign promises.
When security officers denied them entry, tensions escalated as some Democrats confronted the guards. Some members of the group even likened the officers to segregationists who blocked Black students from entering schools during the Jim Crow era. At one point, Waters asked the guards whether they were armed and if they planned to use their weapons. Federal officers later arrived to secure the situation while a lone guard initially held the group back.
Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy later asked Trump for his reaction to the incident, and the former president delivered a pointed response.
He began with a sharp critique of Rep. Waters and her colleagues before shifting focus to his broader concerns about the state of education in the U.S.
“I see Maxine Waters, a low-life. I see all these people, and they don’t love our country,” Trump said.
He then highlighted concerns over the nation’s education rankings, stating, “They rank 40 countries in education—we’re ranked dead last.”
Trump went on to criticize government spending in education, pointing out that while the U.S. ranks highest in per-student spending worldwide, its academic performance lags significantly.
“The ‘good news’ is that we’re number one in one category—cost per pupil. We spend more per student than any other country,” he said. “You look at Norway, Denmark, and other countries, and then you look at us—we’re spending far more money, yet our results are worse.”
Referring to the Biden administration’s track record, Trump added, “In Biden’s last year, we were ranked dead last. What I want to see is school choice, but beyond that, I want education to be managed by the states.”
He concluded by saying that if states were given control, many would be able to compete with top-ranking nations in education. “There will be 35 to 38 states ranked right at the top,” he asserted.
