Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton faced backlash on social media after posting a photo endorsing a new book by left-wing American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten that characterizes political opponents as “fascists.”
“Congratulations to my friend [Weingarten] on ‘Why Fascists Fear Teachers.’ From banning books to controlling curriculum, authoritarians go after public education because it’s a cornerstone of democracy,” Clinton posted online Thursday along with a photo of Weingarten holding a copy of her tome.
“Randi’s new book is a critical read for this moment,” she added.
Conservatives criticized Clinton’s post, arguing it furthered a pattern of smearing political opponents that they say helped create the climate leading to Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
“It’s been one week since Charlie Kirk was murdered by a lunatic who wrote about ‘fascists’ on shell casings,” Republican communicator Matt Whitlock posted on X.
“Now, Randi Weingarten has a new book arguing everyone who disagrees with her views on public education – which have destroyed public education in America – is a fascist.
Added American Culture Project senior fellow Corey DeAngelis: “Hillary Clinton and Randi Weingarten are going full speed ahead with this disgusting rhetoric right after Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Sick people.”
“Charlie Kirk was murdered exactly one week ago,” conservative influencer Jack Posobiec posted. “Here’s Hillary Clinton today.”
“They wrote an entire book on a word they don’t even understand,” noted restaurateur and Huntington Beach City Council member Andrew Gruel on the X platform.
“The room. That’s what y’all should read,” Washington Free Beacon investigative reporter Chuck Ross wrote.
“Democrats Hillary Clinton and Randi Weingarten are still suggesting Republicans are ‘fascists,’” wrote an account that belongs to the Republican National Committee (RNC). “They really can’t help themselves, can they?”
Weingarten defended her book, telling Fox News of her critics: “Have they read the book? If they did, they’d discover it’s a love letter to teachers.”
Weingarten’s book, released Tuesday, outlines her views on confronting what she describes as fascist ideology and its efforts to “undermine democracy, opportunity, and public education as we know it.”
“Attacks on schools and teachers have long been a hallmark of fascist regimes: Throughout history, as many dictators rose to power they began banning books and controlling curriculum,” the book’s preview reads. “Fascists fear teachers because teachers foster an educated and empowered population that can see past propaganda and scare tactics. Fascists fear teachers because they teach young people how to think for themselves.”
Critics of Weingarten and her organization have often accused them of adopting and pushing left-wing political curriculum in an effort to essentially brainwash children instead of emphasizing tried and true teaching methods and focusing on essential subjects like math, reading comprehension, science, history, and geography.
Conservatives and media commentators have highlighted years of rhetoric from the left labeling figures like Kirk as “fascists.”
In the wake of Kirk’s assassination by a gunman authorities say embraced leftist ideology, examples have surfaced of liberal politicians, pundits, professors, and others either celebrating or downplaying his death.
Many on the right argue that such rhetoric contributed to the climate that led to the killing.
Former President Barack Obama on Tuesday described the killing of Kirk as “horrific and a tragedy,” but then also used the situation to claim that political rhetoric from the Trump administration has fueled division in the country.
Obama cautioned that the country faces “a political crisis of the sort that we haven’t seen before,” suggesting that the tone set by the current White House was contributing to the problem.