A public high school in Baltimore, Maryland has been facing widespread backlash over a history class presentation that directly compared President Donald Trump to the Nazis and the Soviet Union, as The Hill reports.
The comparison was made in a slideshow during Loch Raven High School’s AP History class. The image in question depicted President Trump, with a caption reading “wants to round up a group of people to build a giant wall.” Below him, side-by-side, were the swastika symbolic of the Third Reich, and the hammer-and-sickle representing the Soviet Union. Underneath the swastika was the caption “Been there,” and under the hammer-and-sickle was “Done that.”
State Delegate Kathy Szeliga (R-Md.) shared a photo of the slide on social media, referring to it as “propaganda” and “educational malfeasance of the highest degree,” adding “what is going on in our Baltimore Co. public schools? I will be demanding answers and actions from BCPS today!”
The district issued a statement denying that they were making such a comparison, claiming without evidence that the slide was “out of context,” and deflecting by saying that “we expect and encourage analysis and discussion around historical and current events even if they are considered controversial.”
After further criticism from local officials, a representative for the school district issued a statement saying that the district was looking into the incident as a personnel matter, and that it “will be appropriately addressed by the school administration.”