#Michigan teacher claims he was fired over pro-Trump tweets

A social studies teacher in Michigan says he was fired for tweeting in support of President Trump and of schools reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to reports.

Justin Kucera, 28, told The Detroit News that he was given the option to resign or be canned on Monday, after school district officials questioned him about three of his July 6 tweets.

The posts included a retweet of the president’s message declaring that “SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL” and one that said: “I’m done being silent. @realDonaldTrump is our president… Don’t @ me.”

The former Walled Lake Western High School teacher also responded to a comment on his tweet with “Liberals suck man.” He deleted the post a few hours later, according to the newspaper.

A few days later, Kucera said he was summoned to a Zoom meeting with district supervisors to discuss the tweets.

Kucera said he agreed schools should reopen in the fall and that he meant for his tweet about Trump being president to be “unifying,” the News reported.

“I think we should be rooting for him to succeed because if the president succeeds we all succeed,” he said.

He maintained the tweets about liberals were meant sarcastically.

In a second Zoom meeting on Monday, Kucera told officials he wouldn’t resign. He was told his last day would be July 17, according to the paper.

The school district denied that Kucera had been fired over the tweets, saying “no disciplinary action was taken as a result of any support of President Trump.”

But the district declined to comment further, citing confidentiality surrounding personnel matters.

Kucera noted to the News that other teachers have tweeted negative opinions of Trump and were not fired over them.

“It’s the equivalent of me sticking a Donald Trump sign in my yard,” he said of his tweets.

Kucera, who also coached baseball at the school, said it’s common to have disagreements within the workplace but that “I just want to move into a climate where we can agree to disagree.”

A school district spokeswoman told the paper the district believes in “critical thinking,” “positive discourse” and civil and respectful “community discussion.”

“When issues arise, there’s a temptation to view items through the lens of our fractured political discourse,” said Judy Evola, director of community relations for Walled Lake Consolidated Schools.

“Walled Lake encourages students and staff members to engage each other with mutual respect and civility.”

Kucera’s story was first published by the Washington Free Beacon on Tuesday.