Education secretary Betsy DeVos now blames "editing" for why she came across so poorly in her jaw-droppingly bad "60 Minutes" interview.
Education secretary Betsy DeVos is in the third day of fallout from her disastrous interview with "60 Minutes," and things aren't getting any better for her.
Now, DeVos is blaming "editing" for her awkward responses on television, where she was clearly flustered and unable to defend her beliefs and rhetoric on education.
Speaking to the PTA Legislative Conference, DeVos told the audience, "Now that I have the opportunity to speak unedited, I'm not afraid to call out folks who defend stagnation for what it really is: failure."
But when she appeared on the highly watched newsmagazine, the exchange receiving the most attention around the country was clearly not edited to make her look bad.
She was asked to defend the poor performance of charter schools in Michigan, where DeVos and her family have twisted arms to manipulate the school system.
DeVos' contention has been that charter schools made public schools perform better in Michigan. But this has not been the case.
"60 Minutes" reporter Leslie Stahl asked DeVos, "Have the public schools in Michigan gotten better?" Devos replied, "I don't know."
Later, when Stahl asked her if she has visited any of the underperforming schools in the state, Devos said, "I have not intentionally visited schools that are underperforming."
Editing has nothing to with the shocking display of ignorance exhibited by DeVos. Nor do teachers, as she tried to claim in another interview with "Today."
There have been concerns expressed about her suitability for her job from the beginning of the Trump administration.
She has shown time and time again that despite all the money her family has thrown around in Republican politics, she's woefully unprepared to carry out her job.
On multiple media platforms, she was unable to defend even the basics of her chosen approach to education. And now after clear evidence that she crumbles under slight scrutiny, she has lashed out and blamed everyone but herself for her failures.
That is the kind of dishonest approach that would be expected from Trump, so coming from a member of his cabinet it fits right in.
