Donald Trump Threatens to Defund California Schools, Sparking Heated Responses

President Donald Trump recently threatened to defund California schools, and it has sparked a heated response online. The threat came after journalist Josh Kraushaar tweeted out a Washinton Post article that stated, "D.C. committee recommends stripping the names of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Francis Scott Key and others from city buildings." He captioned the post, "America, 2020."

Another user replied to the post, claiming "California has implemented the 1619 Project into the public schools," and then adding, "Soon you wont recognize America." Trump retweeted this user and stated, "Department of Education is looking at this. If so, they will not be funded!" The seemingly controversial 1619 Project was developed by The New York Times Magazine in 2019, and is an ongoing project which "aims to reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of [the United States'] national narrative."

Regarding California schools teaching a 1619 Project curriculum, Newsweek reports that this is accurate, but clarifies that the use of 1619 Project materials is a supplemental resource, rather than being the basis of the curriculum. Trump's threat of pulling school funding has a lot of people upset, and they are sounding off in the replies to his post. Scroll down to read some of the reactions.