Baltimore mayor rebukes President Trump's 'ignorance' of city schools' progress

Mary Carole McCauley, Baltimore Sun on Mar 21, 2025

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BALTIMORE — Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott issued a stinging rebuke to President Donald Trump Friday night, claiming that the commander-in-chief’s criticisms of student math scores don’t add up.

“In response to he who shall not be named, let’s talk facts,” Scott posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Here is some math for those who all of a sudden are mathematicians. Baltimore City math scores increased 5x the rate of statewide math scores last year. Yet we aren’t celebrating because we have much more work to do. Maybe the administration should help instead of treating the Department of Education like the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) Royal Rumble.”

The post was headlined, “Mayor Scott’s Statement On 45/47’s Ignorance Concerning Baltimore City Public Schools.”

Instead of naming Trump directly, the mayor referred to his status as the 45th and 47th U.S. president.

Scott was reacting to remarks Trump made Thursday during a ceremony at the White House in which the president signed an executive order dismantling the U.S. Department of Education.

“In Baltimore, 40% of the high schools have zero students who can do basic mathematics,” Trump said, explaining his rationale for eliminating the department. “Not even the very simplest of mathematics — I said, ‘Give me your definition of basic.’ And, they’re talking about like adding a few numbers together.”

The president appears to have based his comments on FOX45’s Project Baltimore report from September 2023 that found that 40% of city high schools had no students who achieved a proficiency rating on statewide math tests that year.

According to Project Baltimore, there were 13 Baltimore City high schools in which not a single student achieved a score of math proficiency.

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