AFT’s Weingarten: ‘A Second Trump Term Would Send the Country Backward’

WASHINGTON-AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after tonight's presidential debate:

"Joe Biden's performance might not have matched his performance as president, but he tried to get the facts out and lay down his vision for the country-while Donald Trump told the same lies over and over and was rarely held to account by the moderators.

"The contrast could not be clearer: President Biden cares about America's future. He has boosted the economy, kept unemployment low, stood with working people as they organized unions at record rates, and cut costs for healthcare and insulin.

"Trump crowed about his tax breaks to billionaires and restrictions on women's healthcare decisions. He failed to acknowledge his disastrous jobs record, the worst of any president since the Great Depression. He would not commit to upholding the results of the 2024 election and lied again about his loss in 2020.

"A second Trump term would send the country backward. It would mean the end of basic freedoms, the gutting of public education, and the evisceration of public services, union jobs and retirement security. He would ramp up his giveaways to billionaires and the wealthy and cozy up to foreign dictators.

"President Biden believes in the American dream. He has a clear plan to help workers and a commitment to build on his progress and strengthen our democracy. Donald Trump believes only in himself. And that is the choice Americans face in November."

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The AFT represents 1.7 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.