Harrisburg, PA, Thursday, March 5, 2020— AFT Pennsylvania, along with the Scranton Federation of Teachers, on Thursday, issued the following statement regarding President Trump’s Fox News town hall taking place in Scranton Thursday evening:
“President Trump’s broken promises to Pennsylvania’s working families are too numerous to list,” said Arthur Steinberg, President of AFT PA. “But the most egregious examples of the Trump Administration’s failure are public education and infrastructure. By appointing, and keeping Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, Donald Trump has already shown great disdain for American families and our public education system. But to come to Pennsylvania and not visit toxic schools that have been in the news for months is another level of ignorance.”
“On behalf of our educators, students, and parents, I am greatly dismayed that instead of coming to see for himself the conditions in our schools or to ensure that our district’s budget is sound, President Trump’s coming to Scranton for a photo op,” said Rosemary Boland, President of the Scranton Federation of Teachers (SFT). “The federal government has a huge role to play in ensuring that our schools are safe, but instead of engaging with our school community, he’ll be on national television stumping for re-election and telling lies to cover up the promises he’s broken.”
On Thursday night, President Trump will participate in a town hall in Scranton hosted by Fox News Channel. The town hall, which will take place at the Scranton Cultural Center, is Trump’s first town hall of the 2020 election cycle.
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