Betsy DeVos Under Fire For ‘Awkward’ 60 Minutes Interview

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos recently sat down for an interview with “60 Minutes,” and it didn’t exactly go too well. It was kinda awkward.

The controversial cabinet member from Michigan had trouble explaining poor school performance in her home state despite her own multi-million contributions to programs that support vouchers for public as well as private and religious schools.

At one point she even admitted to correspondent Leslie Stahl that ”I have not intentionally visited schools that are underperforming.’

‘Have the public schools in Michigan gotten better?’ Stahl asked her during one exchange.

‘I don’t know. Overall, I, I can’t say overall that they have all gotten better,’ DeVos responded.

‘The whole state is not doing well,’ said Stahl, speaking to DeVos in her home state.

‘Well, there are certainly lots of pockets where this, the students are doing well,’ she responded.

‘I hesitate to talk about all schools in general because schools are made up of individual students attending them,’ Stahl said at one point, notwithstanding her agency’s mission of improving education nationally.

‘Michigan schools need to do better. There is no doubt about it,’ she said.

‘Have you seen the really bad schools? Maybe try to figure out what they’re doing?’ Stahl asked, continuing to press her.

‘I have not, I have not, I have not intentionally visited schools that are underperforming,’ she said.

This part was particularly awkward.

‘Maybe you should,’ volunteered Stahl.

‘Maybe I should. Yes,’ DeVos responded.

Sec. of Education Betsy DeVos struggles to answer fairly basic questions on school performance on 60 Minutes pic.twitter.com/lFVq3USwUW

— Axios (@axios) March 12, 2018

Eeeeeeeeeek.

She was also slammed for the way she handled questions on campus rapes.

“Are you in any way, do you think, suggesting that the number of false accusations are as high as the number of actual rapes or assaults?” Stahl asked DeVos.

“Well, one sexual assault is one too many, and one falsely accused individual is one too many,” DeVos said.

“Yeah, but are they the same?” Stahl asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t know. But I’m committed to a process that’s fair for everyone involved,” DeVos said.

That was the main problem throughout the interview. There were a lot of “I don’t knows.”

She also addressed Trump’s proposal to allow certain QUALIFIED teachers to carry.

“That should be an option for states and communities to consider. And I hesitate to think of, like, my first-grade teacher, Mrs. Zorhoff, I couldn’t ever imagine her having a gun and being trained in that way,” DeVos said.

Um…OK? I don’t really understand why that’s relevant, but whatever. It’s not like these kids would KNOW their teachers are carrying.

“But for those who are– who are capable, this is one solution that can and should be considered. But no one size fits all. Every state and every community is going to address this issue in a different way,” she added.

I agree with that. But yeah. Overall, the interview was NOT well received. Keep in mind that a lot of these people would be haters no matter what, but still. She didn’t really do herself any favors.

Just watched the whole @60Minutes piece on Betsy DeVos. Pretty rough. @LesleyRStahl seemed to know more about the nation’s public schools than the education secretary.

— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) March 12, 2018

I thought that Betsy DeVos interview was an episode of Drunk History but turns out she’s the Secretary of Education

— Clint Smith (@ClintSmithIII) March 12, 2018

And mind you she was asked specifically about her home state of Michigan. You would think that at the very least she would be fully immersed in the data about her own state. SMDH

— Alicia (@rubiesdiamonds) March 12, 2018

but her hair and makeup were perfect plus she smiled

— collusion (@readonly8808) March 12, 2018

I watched it. She was awful – and that's the nicest thing I could say about her

— Carol Williams (@nc_carol) March 12, 2018

It’s stunning that with her billion-dollar leg up she still hasn’t mastered the basic skill of developing a coherent idea and expressing it clearly.

— Ringuette (@Ringuette) March 12, 2018

Horrible..

— Joel Henderson (@JoelHenderson77) March 12, 2018

Oh dear. She needs to resign and have someone else take the responsibilities of her position. Things are not getting better for our schools at all and if she can't be aggressive about funding them, she needs to go.

— J.J.🌐 (@JJSaidSo) March 12, 2018

Betsy Devos is clearly unqualified to be in charge of such an important responsibility — the future of our kids. She should not be in this job. https://t.co/dRJVaoCxLq

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) March 12, 2018

Wow. Just…wow. Someone appears to be in way over her head.

— Madtown Alum (@madtownalum) March 12, 2018

Wow! “I’ve not INTENTIONALLY visited schools that are under preforming.” Isn’t that your job!!! @BetsyDeVosED

— Janpow55 (@janpow55) March 12, 2018

Like I said. She really didn’t do herself any favors here. She’s not good at explaining her positions.

She hasn’t really addressed the drama on Twitter, but here’s the latest from her feed:

I love great public schools, and l love great teachers. Public schools will always be a critical part of the mix in American education. I don’t care where you go to school, as long as where you go to school works for you. #60Minutes pic.twitter.com/pLTCgM7kEU

— Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVosED) March 11, 2018

What I hate is for kids to lose the opportunity to reach their fullest potential. I hate when private schools fail kids, when charter schools are bad actors, and any time that adults let student down. #60Minutes

— Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVosED) March 11, 2018

Great public schools will always work well for many kids, but if it’s not working for an individual child, they should have access to options. No one should ever feel trapped or stuck. No parent should have to feel like they are settling when it comes to their child’s education.

— Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVosED) March 11, 2018

Thoughts?

h/t Daily Mail