In a Monday interview, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he believes Randi Weingarten, the head of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), is the "most dangerous person in the world." 

In an interview with Semafor, Pompeo argued that education is one of the central issues that Republicans should focus on, noting his criticism of Weingarten and the current school curriculum in US school systems. 

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“I tell the story often — I get asked ‘Who’s the most dangerous person in the world? Is it Chairman Kim, is it Xi Jinping?’ The most dangerous person in the world is Randi Weingarten,” Pompeo said. 

“It’s not a close call. If you ask, ‘Who’s the most likely to take this republic down?’ It would be the teacher’s unions, and the filth that they’re teaching our kids, and the fact that they don’t know math and reading or writing,” the former top U.S. diplomat added. 

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“These are the things that candidates should speak to in a way that says, ‘Here’s the problem. Here’s a proposal for how to solve it. And if given the opportunity, these are the things I will go work on to try and deliver that outcome that fixes that problem,'” Pompeo concluded. “Pretty straightforward stuff.” 

Weingarten took the matter to Twitter, saying she didn't know if the remarks should be considered "ridiculous or dangerous."

I know that Mike Pompeo is running for president, and frankly I don’t know whether to characterize his characterization of me in the @daveweigel interview as ridiculous or dangerous. https://t.co/5QBx2lE0K4

— Randi Weingarten 🇺🇦🇺🇸💪🏿👩‍🎓 (@rweingarten) November 22, 2022

“At the state department, Pompeo defended Middle East’s tyrants & undermined Ukraine. He was more focused on pleasing Trump than fighting 4 freedom, national security & democracy. To compare us to China means he must not know what his own department says,” she wrote.

“Maybe spend a minute in one of the classrooms with my members and their students and you will get a real lesson in the promise and potential of America.”