President Donald Trump called out Democratic lawmakers on Friday for their handling of the education system, pointing to declining student proficiency and test scores despite the massive amount of taxpayer dollars funneled into public schools.
His comments came in response to an incident earlier in the day where a group of Democrats, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), attempted to force their way into the Department of Education building but were blocked by security.
BREAKING: Rep. Maxine Waters and other Democrat Congress members are staging an insurrection at the Dept of Education over Trump and Elon Musk, but they’re getting the door slammed in their faces. pic.twitter.com/4QbgT0ku1Z
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 7, 2025
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At a press conference, Trump reiterated the need for a serious overhaul of the education system, citing poor academic performance despite record spending.
“I see the same [lawmakers], I see Maxine Waters, a low life. I see all these people, they don’t love our country. We want great education. So they rank 40 countries in education, we’re ranked dead last, but the good news is we’re number one in one category, you know what that is? Cost per pupil,” Trump told Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy.
Maxine Waters (D) is currently accosting random federal employees outside the Department of Education pic.twitter.com/5L8RviQ9rH
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 7, 2025
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He continued, “We spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, you look at Norway, Denmark, Sweden, various countries all up and down, Finland, China does very well in education and then look at us. We spend much more money than they do per pupil or any other way, but we spend much more money than they do yet we’re ranked, this year, Biden’s last year, congratulations Joe, we’re ranked dead last.”
Democratic lawmakers have voiced strong opposition to Trump’s proposal to eliminate the Department of Education and shift public education oversight to the states.
The administration plans to cut federal spending on education while promising improvements in quality and accountability at the local level.
Currently, federal, state, and local governments collectively spend approximately $857.2 billion annually on K-12 public education.
Despite this, student test scores have continued to decline, and the federal government’s $190 billion in pandemic-related school aid has failed to yield significant academic improvements.
While the U.S. News & World Report ranks the United States as the top country for education, this ranking is based on factors such as the presence of high-quality universities and respondents’ perceptions of the system, rather than actual student performance.
However, a more concrete assessment from The Nation’s Report Card, released on January 29, 2024, found that reading and math scores for fourth and eighth graders remain well below pre-pandemic levels.
The report also revealed that one-third of eighth graders—the highest percentage ever recorded—failed to meet the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading benchmark.
A separate analysis by The New York Times in March found that since the pandemic, students have fallen behind in math by over half a year and have also struggled in reading and science.
Further data shows that students who attended remote learning schools performed significantly worse on standardized tests compared to those who were allowed to return to in-person classes.
Trump has pledged to take bold action to address the education crisis, insisting that financial accountability and structural changes are necessary to reverse the nation’s declining academic performance.
His administration has prioritized reducing federal involvement in education while placing greater control in the hands of state and local governments.
As Trump pushes forward with his plans to restructure the system, Democratic lawmakers remain adamantly opposed, arguing that federal oversight is necessary.
Meanwhile, the data continues to show that the nation’s students are struggling—raising serious concerns about the effectiveness of the current approach to education.
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Democrats whine about everything! I wouldn’t let them clean toilets. They only push anti American values. How out fire fathers were bad people etc. how they were slave owners. You know that was standard in that time. Tho it was wrong. All races have been slaves at one time or another. It is wrong . Even tho we still have people in slavery still today in some country’s.
There are still some aspects of US life are “slavery” in effect. Just because they aren’t officially defined in that manner – there ARE areas where a certain kind of slavery is VERY apparent and practiced!!! LOOK AROUND~~~
I see your veiled reference to the IRS and the wage slaves they own (i.e., the American people) and raise you 87,000 IRS agents.
Armed IRS agents. Just thought I’d help.
Aren’t you glad you don’t have to concern yourself with explaining such vapid, gratuitous assertions, sic?
Hell, we have slavery today in our own country. The slave owners are the Democrat party. Not much has changed for people of color or poor people. They keep voting for the lies Dems spew but nothing ever changes. I think they are finally seeing that Dems make great promises but nothing changes for them. Dems think more of illegals than our own people. Thank God they voted Trump this time around and they will see changes for the better. He is finding the money they have been squandering. Everyone will be better off for his efforts.
Slaves/useful idiots the NWO loves their “meat on the table”.
edible idiots.
Thank you. Your comment nicely exemplifies our poor reading and writing skills in the USA.
Dick Chenney is the Darth Vader of the Establishment, a ruthless corrupt Swamp Creature, the merchant of wars and death for personal profit. Thank God for President Trump, God’s avenging angel to save us all and the world.
Trump Torches ‘Low Life’ Maxine Waters and the Democrats Over Dept. of Education Stunt
Just like Trump to give Maxine Waters the benefit of the doubt; in truth, Waters is over rated at ‘low life.’
It’s just like Pres Trump to be gracious with his zingers. lol
Maybe Maxine could be called ‘lower-life’.
As both an educator and an employer, my experience shows that education standards have fallen significantly. My college students cannot do simple math calculations, have little or no knowledge of classic literature, and cannot compose a paragraph. We are spending more on education than ever before but are not getting the desired results. Today’s public schools lack discipline, dress codes, and strict academic performance standards.
IMO because we are spending more on the wrong stuff.
… and one walk trough the hallways will clearly reveal that the inmates are running the asylum.
You know, we might have some respect for these Democrats if they came up with real solutions rather than engaging in stunts. Everything they do is simply designed to draw attention to themselves and create a scene. If they have a problem with what Trump or the Republicans are proposing, then they should come up with an alternative solution and work to negotiate toward a common middle ground. Instead they just flail their hands and act like idiots.
If Dems had a rational platform they themselves could believe in, they could even articulate it and promote it. As it is, we get manufactured b.s. and money laundering. It’s who they are.
dead last, that is soooo sad and the money spent, well, start using real books again, homework assignments, and lets not forget the poor teacher we have who worry more about sex changes then reading writing arithmetic, and students can NOT make change without the register telling them the change, and learn to write in cursive,
Maxine Swampwaters should get her a drum like the Nicholas Sandman Injun had, just for such an occasion.