A Michigan school teacher claims he was fired from his Walled Lake Consolidated Schools job after posting “[Trump] is our president” on Twitter.
Justin Kucera, a social studies teacher and baseball coach at Walled Lake Western High School, was confronted by school administrators for tweets he posted July 6.
“I’m done being silent,” he wrote. “@realDonaldTrump is our president.”
The Detroit News reported Kucera also posted, “Liberals suck man,” before deleting the message.
“I was required to meet with [human resources], the superintendent, and my principal [on July 10]. They initially took my statement on why I tweeted those tweets and they told me they would have a decision about my future employment in the upcoming days. When they completed the meeting, I was told I had the option to either be fired or resign,” Kucera told the Washington Free Beacon.
He refused to resign.
The school district disputed Kucera’s story, saying “no disciplinary action was taken as a result of any support of President Trump,” according to the News.
“These are difficult times in our community and across our country,” Judy Evola, director of community relations for Walled Lake Consolidated Schools, told the paper. “When issues arise, there’s a temptation to view items through the lens of our fractured political discourse. Walled Lake encourages students and staff members to engage each other with mutual respect and civility.”
“I know a lot of people are just rooting for Trump to fail, and I don’t think that anybody should do that,” Kucera said, according to the Free Beacon.
“Agree with him or not, you should want the president to do well. I apologized that [my tweet] brought so much negative attention, but I’m not sorry for what I said.”
Kucera’s union, the National Education Association, has endorsed Trump’s opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden.
According to the News, “Kucera said he was told by the union that the tweets could be construed as impeding the business of the school, which would be grounds for firing, especially considering the school’s title was listed on his Twitter page.”
The Free Beacon noted other Walled Lake teachers have expressed favorable views of Democrats or opposition to Trump “without any repercussions.”
Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. He is also host of “The Kyle Olson Show,” syndicated on Michigan radio stations on Saturdays. Listen to segments on YouTube. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, and follow him on Parler.