Hawkeye Reporter

Representatives with the Iowa State Education Association did not respond to a reported controversial tweet from a former U.S. education secretary that has since been deleted.

Arne Duncan, who served in the President Barack Obama administration from 2009-2016, tweeted recently that Americans opposed to masking and who are hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine are like Kabul airport’s suicide bombers, The Hill reported Aug. 31.

“Have you noticed how strikingly similar both the mindsets and actions between the suicide bombers at Kabul’s airport and the anti-mask and anti-vax people here?" Duncan reportedly tweeted. "They both blow themselves up, inflict harm on those around them, and are convinced they are fighting for freedom.” 

The tweet has since been deleted.

Prior to the since-deleted controversial tweet, a suicide bomber and gunmen from the Islamic State group's Afghanistan affiliate attacked the Kabul airport, resulting in the death of 13 U.S. service members and at least 170 Afghans.

A former teacher Joel Petlin replied to Duncan’s tweet saying, "On the day that President Biden met the caskets containing the fallen soldiers who were victims of suicide bombers, I can't imagine a more inappropriate Tweet from former Education Secretary@arneduncan. There's no comparison between non-masking, non-vaxxing & terrorism. Shame," Newsweek reported.

Before being appointed to his cabinet position, Duncan was the CEO of Chicago Public Schools.

Founder and president of Restoration Action Doug Traux told the Hawkeye Reporter that “It’s a sad day in America to see a supposed national education expert be so blatantly ignorant of the difference between legitimate dissent and barbaric, murderous behavior.”

President Joe Biden issued a sweeping mandate on Sept. 9 requiring all employers with 100 or more employees to “ensure their workers are vaccinated or tested weekly.” The rule will be issued by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and implemented via an emergency temporary standard, according to the White House. The rule requiring vaccination against COVID-19 or weekly proof of negative test results will affect more than 80 million employees.