Granite State Times

Representatives from the National Education Association New Hampshire and the Nashua Teachers Union did not respond to a controversial tweet from a former U.S. secretary of education, which has since been deleted.

Arne Duncan, who served in former President Barack Obama's administration from 2009 to 2016, tweeted recently that Americans opposed to masking and resistant to getting the COVID-19 vaccine are like the Kabul airport’s suicide bombers, according to a report by The Hill. 

“Have you noticed how strikingly similar both the mindsets and actions between the suicide bombers at Kabul’s airport and the anti-mask and anti-vax people here?" Duncan reportedly Tweeted, according to Newsweek. "They both blow themselves up, inflict harm on those around them and are convinced they are fighting for freedom.” The tweet has since been deleted. 

Prior to the now-deleted controversial tweet, an ISIS-K suicide bomber and gunmen had attacked the Kabul airport, resulting in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and at least 170 Afghans. 

Joel Petlin, a former teacher and superintendent of the Kiryas Joel school district, replied to Duncan’s tweet saying, "On the day that President Biden met the caskets containing the fallen soldiers who were victims of suicide bombers, I can't imagine a more inappropriate tweet from former Education Secretary Arne Duncan. There's no comparison between non-masking, non-vaxxing & terrorism. Shame."

Before being appointed to his cabinet position, Duncan was the CEO of Chicago Public Schools.

Founder and President of Restoration Action Doug Traux told the Granite State Times, “It’s a sad day in America to see a supposed national education expert be so blatantly ignorant of the difference between legitimate dissent and barbaric, murderous behavior.”

On Sept. 9, President Joe Biden issued a sweeping mandate requiring all employers with 100 or more employees to “ensure their workers are vaccinated or tested weekly.” According to the White House, the rule will be issued by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and implemented via an Emergency Temporary Standard. The rule requiring vaccination against COVID-19 or weekly proof of negative test results will affect more than 80 million employees.