Teachers union leader says she needs security following Mike Pompeo's criticism

A national teachers union boss who has been criticized by conservatives said she now needs security because of threats that followed disparagement by former Kansas congressman Mike Pompeo.

American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten was in Topeka on Wednesday, visiting the Kansas Statehouse for a rally with labor leaders and Gov. Laura Kelly organized by the Kansas AFL-CIO. The AFT, which is part of the AFL-CIO, is the country's second-largest teachers union.

In November 2022, as Donald Trump's former cabinet member was mulling a run for president, Pompeo told Semafor that a top issue for Republicans in 2024 would be "making sure we don't teach our kids crap in schools."

"The most dangerous person in the world is Randi Weingarten," Pompeo said. "It's not a close call. If you ask, 'Who's the most likely to take this republic down?' It would be the teacher's unions, and the filth that they're teaching our kids, and the fact that they don't know math and reading or writing."

Speaking with reporters Wednesday after the speeches, Weingarten said Pompeo's comments have led to threats.

"I am mindful that the former secretary of state, and the former CIA director and a former representative of Kansas used terms that were not only disparaging but actually created a lot of threats to me and my family," Weingarten said. "And he knows better."

Pompeo subsequently challenged Weingarten to a debate via a column in the New York Post.

"I said to him, 'No, I'm not going to debate you, but come to a school with me,' which he never wanted to do," Weingarten said. "So it was performative in his attempts to run for president, and it didn't work. ... They can smear, they can be performative, they can do the stunts — I'm focused on solutions. I'm focused on how we help kids thrive. That's why I wanted him to come to school with me, which he wouldn't do."

The following April, Pompeo announced he wouldn't run for president. At the time, national polls showed about 1% of likely Republican voters backed Pompeo while 58% supported Trump. Even in Kansas, Pompeo was only polling at 9%.

Since then, Pompeo has continued to criticize Weingarten in conservative media appearances and on social media. He has taken particular issue with the teach union's stance on COVID-19 precautions and "woke nonsense."

"What I was really bothered by is calling what teachers do 'filth,'" Weingarten said. "How dare you. Teachers every single day are helping children succeed, they're trying to meet kids' needs, and helping them succeed and helping their families succeed. Don't insult them; help them. So it was he did it for political reasons, and that's what people hate. They hate the politics of all this."

"We can be political in other ways, but really, Mike Pompeo saying that I was more dangerous than Vladimir Putin and calling what teachers do 'filth?' Notice, I'm still doing my job. I'm still working, doing the work that I'm doing. These days, unfortunately, because of what he did, I need security because of the threats.

"But at the end of the day, bullies are bullies. Stop bullying teachers; work with teachers."

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Teachers union's Randi Weingarten cites Pompeo in need for security