Donald Trump either misspoke or had a Freudian slip while speaking at Clemson University in Clemson, SC on Wednesday:
“We are going to do something special. . . . Okay, are you ready? Common Core we’re going to keep. Trade we are going to make great. Military – we’re going to go through the . . . we’re going to make it so good,” Trump boasted.
He quickly went on Twitter to clarify:
I was referring to the fact that Jeb Bush wants to keep common core.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 11, 2016
No, he clearly wasn’t. Typically when he discusses Common Core, it’s generally in reference to Jeb Bush who advocates for it. For instance, during his speech at the Iowa Freedom Summit he said, “[Bush is] totally in favor of Common Core — that’s a disaster — it’s bad. It should be local and all of that.”
Then he responded to a question:
“@HARyder: Which is it @realDonaldTrump ?Are you planning on getting rid of Common Core or keeping it? Get rid of it fast.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 11, 2016
Okay, how? The most substantive quote I can find regarding Common Core was at The FAMiLY Leadership Summit. He said, “Common Core has to be ended. It’s a disaster. It’s a way of taking care of the people in Washington that, frankly, I don’t even think they give a damn about education, half of them. And I’m sure some of you maybe do.”
In reality we have no idea what Donald Trump will actually do about education at the federal level. All we can do is take him at his word, which doesn’t mean much at the moment.
Shane Vander Hart is the online communications manager for American Principles Project, a frequent contributor to TruthInAmericanEducation.com, and the editor of Iowa-based CaffeinatedThoughts.com.
