ST. PAUL, MN — President Donald Trump reposted a video Monday on Truth Social showing a kindergarten graduation ceremony at Gateway STEM Academy, a public charter school in St. Paul, sparking condemnation from Gov. Tim Walz, Minnesota Muslim advocacy groups, and others.
The clip, originally posted in June by SomTV, showed roughly 21 children singing together in caps and gowns during their June graduation ceremony.
The girls wore hijabs beneath their graduation caps.
Trump shared the video without adding his own comment, but included a repost of commentary from the right wing account End Wokeness, which wrote, "Public school in St. Paul, Minnesota. Every girl is in a hijab in kindergarten."
Walz responded on social media Monday afternoon, writing that the president was attacking a group of kindergartners over the clothes they wore to school.
The Minnesota Association of Charter Schools said in a statement to FOX 9 that "We’re not sure what is more shocking: lawmakers elected to represent all of their constituents openly mocking young children, or the fact that, by publicly sharing their photo and naming their school, they have put those children at greater risk. At a time when schools and students too often face threats and harassment, that kind of conduct is deeply irresponsible."
"Children and schools should be off limits from political attacks. Our elected leaders should know better and do better," the organization added.
The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the repost, saying the president was putting lives at risk by amplifying anti-Muslim sentiment aimed at children through his platform.
The Somali American Partnership planned a news conference this week to address what it described as a growing climate of anti-Somali and anti-Muslim rhetoric in the state, the Star Tribune reported.
The story also drew a response from children's educator Rachel Accurso, known to millions of families as Ms. Rachel from the YouTube and Netflix series Songs for Littles.
In a post on her Instagram account, Accurso congratulated Minnesota kindergarten graduates and told students who wore hijabs to their ceremony that she found the garment beautiful, adding that kids wear many different things tied to their culture and religion, including hijabs, kippahs, and crosses, while others wear nothing religious at all.
Gateway STEM Academy is a K-8 charter school overseen by a board of directors and Pillsbury United Communities.
The repost is the latest in a series of statements from Trump regarding Minnesota's Somali community.
Last December, federal prosecutors charged dozens of people in a Minnesota fraud case, with some of the defendants connected to the state's Somali diaspora.
Discussing the case during a Cabinet meeting, Trump said he did not want Somali immigrants in the country.
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