Virginia Education Association sends email to all members, attacking President-elect Donald Trump and accusing him of “extremism”

On November 12, 2024, Educational Freedom Institute executive director Corey DeAngelis shared an email on X that the Virginia Education Association sent to members after President-elect Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election. The email starts with: “I know today feels like a dark day for many of you.” A link is also provided in the email to members for those “looking for resources and mental health support” to deal with the election results. The teachers union then continues to use divisive language:

Before the election, many commentators warned about the end of democracy if Trump won. That isn’t going to happen – not on our watch. America is bigger than Trump and his extremism. But make no mistake, it will not be easy. Our schools, our profession, and our union will come under attack as never before. The very existence of public education and organized educators threatens their concept of control, and they will come for us.

The union later states: “Virginia had a strong message for the rest of the nation last night that does not fit into the MAGA narrative. We showed that we can be strong, resilient, and defiant in the fact of incalculable odds. Virginia was the only southern state to reject Trump, and we will need to keep up that work into next year’s election cycle when the State Senate, House of Delegates, and governorship are all on the line.” The letter was written by union president Carol Bauer.

Carol Bauer notably has politically biased activity on her X account, including sharing numerous posts supporting Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election and attending a watch party for Democratic Senator Tim Kaine. She also lists her preferred pronouns on her X bio.