'Just pathetic': Leading educator slams J.D. Vance for accusing her of 'brainwashing'

The head of the American Federation of Teachers came out swinging on CNN in response to former President Donald Trump's running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), attacking her in newly unearthed footage, saying, “If she wants to brainwash and destroy the mind of children, she should have some of her own and leave ours the hell alone."

It's yet another case of Vance throwing shade on women for not being moms, which has landed him in hot water across the campaign trail — although he is disputing that that is what he meant to say.

"I didn't criticize Randi Weingarten for not having kids," said Vance in a tape played on CNN's "The Source." "I criticized her for wanting to brainwash mine."

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Weingarten was not impressed with his explanation.

"Well, first, he criticized — maybe he didn't listen to his own tape from 2021," said Weingarten. "But the fact he doubled down on teachers today, and, you know, it's just pathetic. Like, he has no idea how I teach and what I taught. He should have come into one of my classrooms. If I may be teaching, again, this spring, college teaching this spring, I'll invite him to a classroom. I taught at Cornell last spring. My kids, just FYI were champions, state and city champions, in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights."

"We teach kids how to think, not what to think," said Weingarten. "We teach kids to critically think. We teach kids compassion. We teach kids caring. We teach kids communication skills. We teach kids skills so that they can thrive in America. So I have no idea why he would even think that that kind of teaching is brainwashing. I think there must be something wrong with this guy."

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