Firing offense: Teacher tweeted that Trump 'is our president'

FPI / July 22, 2020

A popular teacher and coach at a Michigan high school was fired after he tweeted support for President Donald Trump, a report said.

Justin Kucera, a social studies teacher and varsity baseball coach at Walled Lake Western High School, had tweeted on July 6: "I’m done being silent. @realDonaldTrump is our president."

Kucera said Walled Lake school district officials called him into a closed-door meeting after he indicated his support for Trump's call to reopen schools, the Washington Free Beacon reported on Tuesday.

Kucera told the Free Beacon the Walled Lake Western principal and district superintendent gave him an ultimatum: be fired or resign.

"I was required to meet with [human resources], the superintendent, and my principal [on July 10]. They initially took my statement on why I tweeted those tweets and they told me they would have a decision about my future employment in the upcoming days. When they completed the meeting, I was told I had the option to either be fired or resign." Kucera said.

"I know a lot of people are just rooting for Trump to fail, and I don't think that anybody should do that," Kucera said. "Agree with him or not, you should want the president to do well. I apologized that [my tweet] brought so much negative attention, but I'm not sorry for what I said."

Parents and students told the Free Beacon that Kucera was "apolitical" and a popular figure at the school.

Bryant Hixson, a recent Walled Lake Western graduate, said "Prior to Mr. Kucera's tweet, I cannot recall an instance where he shared his political affiliations while teaching or coaching."

A parent of two Walled Lake Western boys told the Free Beacon — on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution — that Kucera was an apolitical figure who coached his son in baseball and basketball and taught his sons AP History and student leadership.

"Justin coached my son his entire high school career and also was his AP History teacher and student leadership teacher for two years. I know Justin very well," the parent said. "If there's one thing that I would commend Justin for is, he always tried to stay apolitical. He always tried to stay right down the middle, avoid [political] conversations, and let the students make their own call based on their own life experiences."

The Free Beacon noted that other Walled Lake teachers have expressed their political views without any repercussions.

Paulette Loe, a now-retired Walled Lake Western teacher, while still employed at the school encouraged students to read an article from the leftist media outlet the Atlantic about "how to beat Trump".

Nicole Estes, a kindergarten teacher in the district, called Trump a "sociopath" and a "narcissist" on Facebook in 2016 and is still employed at Keith Elementary School, the report said.

Free Press International