Trump Torches ‘Low Life’ Maxine Waters and the Democrats Over Dept. of Education Stunt [WATCH]

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

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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