Donald Trump’s education secretary is under fire for an ostensibly apolitical national tour ahead of America’s 250th birthday that critics say has been funded entirely by pro-MAGA groups.
Linda McMahon—who presides over what’s left of the Department of Education after Trump launched an initiative to effectively “eliminate” it last year—launched her “History Rocks!” tour of the U.S. last December.
McMahon has billed the educational tour as a politically neutral celebration of U.S. history ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4.
But critics have raised concerns after it emerged that the America 250 Civics Education Coalition sponsoring the drive is, in fact, made up entirely of pro-Trump organizations.
This includes the America First Policy Institute, Turning Point USA, Moms for Liberty, and the Heritage Foundation, the Washington Post reports.
The newspaper said there is no sign political messaging has been pushed at any of the events, but objections have been raised over the idea that students should focus on positive aspects of U.S. history over darker chapters like the transatlantic slave trade.
The America First Policy Institute, announcing the coalition behind the tour, also released a video calling for a return to a time when education was based on “faith, heritage, patriotism.”
“Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary McMahon, that light will be restored to guide our students and our nation into a brighter American future,” the video claims.
At least four schools have cancelled planned events in Massachusetts, Alabama, and McMahon’s home state of Connecticut out of concern for the tour’s backing. Others in Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Illinois have been the targets of protests.
“I just found it hypocritical,” one Alabama high school student told the Post. “They tried to say their tour was apolitical while being very publicly supported by strongly political groups.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Education for comment on this story. Secretary McMahon told the Post that “some have tried to brand this tour as ‘radical’, ‘dangerous’ and ‘partisan,’” and that those claims were “absurd.”
“What you see is not politics—it is a shared commitment to our nation’s story,” she went on. “It speaks volumes about certain voices in our society that they would seek to distort a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary and deprive children of this experience.”
