Parkland student mocks DeVos: ‘Unfair’ to ask Education secretary education questions

A student who survived last month’s mass shooting at a Florida high school mocked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for her “60 Minutes” interview in which she struggled to answer basic questions about schools.

“Everybody please give @BetsyDeVosED a break in regards to the 60 Minutes video… Answering questions about education is hard,” Cameron Kasky tweeted.

“It’s unfair to put the United States Secretary of Education on the spot like that. Secretary DeVos, you are in an office, so I will stand by you.”

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In a subsequent tweet, Kasky — who has become a vocal advocate for gun control since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. — noted there was “a drop or two of sarcasm in there.”

“Everybody please stop saying @BetsyDeVosED isn’t qualified for her job,” he said in another tweet.

“I bet NONE of you have enough money to buy that position anyway, so please allow the secretary to do her good work without your criticism.”

Everybody please give @BetsyDeVosED a break in regards to the 60 Minutes video…

Answering questions about education is hard. It’s unfair to put the United States Secretary of Education on the spot like that.

Secretary DeVos, you are in an office, so I will stand by you.

— Cameron Kasky (@cameron_kasky) March 12, 2018

Everybody please stop saying @BetsyDeVosED isn’t qualified for her job.

I bet NONE of you have enough money to buy that position anyway, so please allow the secretary to do her good work without your criticism.

— Cameron Kasky (@cameron_kasky) March 12, 2018

DeVos struggled during a pointed “60 Minutes” interview to answer basic questions about education policy and schools.

DeVos is a school-choice advocate who has pushed for policies that allow students to leave public schools and take public funding to charter or religious schools.

During the interview, she specifically struggled to explain what would happen to the schools and students left behind.

“In places where there is a lot of choice that’s been introduced, Florida for example, the studies show that where there’s a large number of students that opt to go to a different school or different schools, the traditional public schools actually, the results get better as well,” DeVos said during the interview.

“Now, has that happened in Michigan?” “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl responded. Michigan is DeVos’s home state, and the Education secretary as a private citizen spent millions to back school-choice efforts in that state.

“Have the public schools in Michigan gotten better?” Stahl asked.

“I can’t say overall that they have all gotten better,” DeVos responded.

Democrats and several journalists have called out DeVos for her difficulty in answering questions during the interview.

DeVos faced fierce opposition in her confirmation process, with senators in both parties criticizing her for her lack of experience with public and rural education.

She was confirmed, despite two GOP senators voting against her nomination. Vice President Pence cast the tie-breaking vote for her confirmation.