Obama's education secretary compares 'anti-mask,' 'anti-vax' Americans to suicide bombers, triggering swift backlash

Arne Duncan, the secretary of education most of Barack Obama's presidency, triggered a tsunami of backlash Sunday when he compared terrorist suicide bombers to "anti-mask and anti-vax" Americans.

What did Duncan say?

According to Duncan, Americans opposed to face masks and vaccines are "strikingly similar" to the terrorists who carried out the attack outside the Kabul airport last week.

"Have you noticed how strikingly similar both the mindsets and actions are between the suicide bombers at Kabul's airport, and the anti-mask and anti-vax people here?" Duncan wrote on Twitter. "They both blow themselves up, inflict harm on those around them, and are convinced they are fighting for freedom."

In addition to leading the Education Department from 2009 to 2016, Duncan also served as the CEO of Chicago Public Schools from 2001 until 2009.

What was the reaction?

Duncan's comparison was swiftly rebuked as critics pointed to Duncan's comments as symbolic of problems within the ruling class.

• "This guy was US Secretary of Education under Obama. Explains all you need to know about our failing, embarrassing education system. Parents need re-think government education & ha doing their precious kids over to people like this for 8 hrs a day," Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy said.
• "[T]his tweet will just make people think mental illness is a side effect of the vaccine," another person said.
• "Knowing this guy ran Dept of Ed for eight years under Obama explains all the insanity in our public schools happening right now, doesn't it?" radio host Larry O'Connor said.
• "The strongest case against 'mask mandate!' religious fervor I've seen. I'd laugh at this clown, but I've lived long enough to know how dangerous these folks are," Fox News host Joey Jones said.
• "If people are wondering why our country's education system is in the pits, this guy ran things for 8 years," Brent Scher, executive editor at the Washington Free Beacon, said.
• "No. I haven't… because they're not similar. You lack a soul and brain. The only thing striking is your ignorance," radio host Jason Rantz said.
• "So disrespectful. You owe those military families an apology for using them like this. Disgusting," another person said.
• "No, but I did notice similarities to the Taliban's control of its people to 'the woke left' trying to do the same," one person mocked.
• "The most troubling similarity is to people like you, who see their ideology as so superior that any use of force in its behalf is entirely justified. No American should ever forget that the ONE property that defines government is its ability to use violence against citizens," former Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-Md.), who is also a doctor, said.

Last week, Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency, made headlines after saying it would be a "good idea" to send unvaccinated supporters of Donald Trump to Afghanistan.