AFT President Randi Weingarten’s Remarks at Democratic National Convention

PHILADELPHIA—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten delivered the following remarks at the Democratic National Convention today:

“I’m proud to be here representing the 1.6 million members of the AFT!

“Last week, we saw a festival of fear. Every day was full of hate and bigotry. Why? To hide that Trump’s plans—like many of his businesses—are completely bankrupt.

“Donald made millions while he ripped off workers and small businesses with his unfair business practices—remember, he ended up bankrupting his companies not once, not twice, but four times. And his economic ideas will make millionaires like him richer at the expense of the middle class.

“Just look at Trump University to see how he operates. Salespeople were told to exploit people’s fears, like pushing “a single parent … that may need money for food” into useless, high-cost seminars. Instead of an education, students lost thousands of dollars and got nothing in return.

“That’s Trump in a nutshell: manipulating people’s fears to enrich himself.

“He is completely unqualified for the Oval Office.

“Thankfully, we have a different choice, and it’s a great one: Hillary Clinton.

“Hillary’s worked her entire life to level the playing field for working families. That starts with public education, from pre-K through college. She has a plan for universal early childhood education. She’ll reset education policy to focus on skills like creativity and critical thinking, not more testing. And she’ll make public universities free for working families—a stark contrast with Trump’s for-profit scam.

“Hillary is the most qualified candidate for president in my lifetime. She’ll wake up every day thinking of ways to help all of us. The choice could not be clearer—we must elect Hillary Clinton!”