Education Secretary Linda McMahon has been busy traveling the country to meet with staff, educators, parents, and students at many schools across the nation as the Trump administration looks to renew and reform our country’s failing public education system. One major problem is the increasing lack of patriotism.
The countless crises plaguing the American education system are complex and multifaceted. Some of the problems come from undisciplined, overindulged students, while other problems come from many teachers and administrators themselves. Indeed, American students are learning to hate their country or to consider patriotism unimportant from public school teachers and administrators who receive taxpayer-funded salaries but have no gratitude for the country that provides their livelihoods.
Speaking at the Buckley Institute on April 16, McMahon shared two connected anecdotes from her tours across the nation that illustrate how anti-American the American public schools are now. “I’ll tell you the saddest thing that happened to me relative to any of these tours… was at one school that I went to and the principal told me, he said, ‘Wow,’ he said, ‘I’m really glad you had the words, you know, to the pledge of allegiance, you know, up on the boards, because I don’t think the kids in our school know what they are,'” McMahon recounted.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon lamented the lack of patriotism among some teachers and administrators in American schools.
“How can we really drive home patriotism and love of country and respect for our flag if we actually have teachers and principals who are not encouraging… pic.twitter.com/wgBCct8lZP
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 17, 2026
She continued, “And they can opt out of saying the pledge of allegiance, and so the school just opted out. And then you don’t have to say it anymore. I thought, ‘what a comment that is.'” But it gets even worse.
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McMahon said, “And this same principal, when he got up to announce for everyone to stand to say the pledge of allegiance, he said, ‘Now understand, you’re not pledging allegiance to any particular flag, but just to a spirit. So you can pledge this allegiance to whatever flag you think is appropriate for you.'” This is a patently false statement — the Pledge of Allegiance is specifically “to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands.” The principal was not only making a false statement, but he was also deliberately encouraging his students to express allegiance to foreign powers.
McMahon added, “And I thought, ‘How can we really drive home patriotism and love of country and respect for our flag if we actually have teachers and principals who are not encouraging the very basics of what is patriotic in our country’?” How indeed? Hiring and curriculum standards, not to mention the requirement to say the Pledge of Allegiance, need to change dramatically.
The Department of Education’s “History Rocks Tour” and “Returning Education to the States Tour” helped McMahon and her team see the weaknesses and failures of U.S. public education up close, while also pointing out to them how they can help support solutions. And solutions are badly overdue.
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