The Breakfast Club - DONKEY: U.S. Education Secretary Flubs Basic Math & Facts During Senate Hearing

Episode Date: June 5, 2025

Charlamagne Tha God gives Donkey of the Day to the U.S. Education Secretary for fumbling basic math and facts during a Senate hearing. Listen for more! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Alright, Charmaine, please tell me, why was I your donkey of the day? Well, donkey of the day for Thursday, June 5th goes the education secretary, Linda McMahon. Yes, Linda McMahon, former CEO of WWE is the United States secretary of education. Uh, what is this secretary of education? Well, the secretary is responsible for the overall direction, supervision and coordination of all activities of the Department of Education and she is the principal advisor to the president on federal policies, programs and activities related to education in America. Now what

qualifications does Linda McMahon have to be in this role? Some would say that her qualifications are thinner than my hairline. Okay she has had two years on Connecticut State Board of Education, many years on the Board of Trustees of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield and two years as chief State Board of Education, many years on the Board of Trustees of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, and two years as Chief of the U.S. Small Business Administration. And she's run two unsuccessful campaigns for U.S. Senator. And during that campaign, she proved that she didn't know much about government. So when she got the role of Secretary of Education, plenty people knew she wouldn't be mistaken for a great educator. So what

ended up getting her the job as education secretary? Well, her one main qualification was she was caked up. Oh, she had that bread. She made a lot of money by being the CEO of WWE. She was married to Vince McMahon for 58 years. So, you know, having that kind of money got her close to people like Donald Trump. And now Trump is president. So he said, Hey Linda, come run this department that I'm talking about. Shutting down our dismantling. Now I had to give you a little backstory on Linda. So you understand why she is getting donkey of the day today.

Okay. In a recent Senate hearing, Linda McMahon was tasked with defending the Trump administration's 2026 education budget. Now keep in mind, like a lot of people in Trump's administration, folks have said Linda is not qualified for the role she is in. People have said she's out of her depth and ill-informed about the Department of Education,

the department she is currently leading. Well, this Senate hearing didn't help. Okay, with a lot of math mishaps and historical hiccups, would you like to hear it? Let's start with some of the math mishaps first. Secretary McMahon of course testified before the Senate today and Republican senators kind of did their level best to lob her softball questions and make it look like she kind of knows what she's doing. What was we ranked nationally in math and in reading in 1979? We were very very low on the

totem pole. We're number one in 1979. 1979? We were very ranked in math in 1979. We were number one. That's not hard to understand. Okay. All right. Let's stay on the math. There was a math problem in there, right? Let's listen. We spend $1.58 billion a year on TRIO. Yes. That's $1,580 million a year. Is my math right? I think that's right sir. And how long have we been spending $1,580 million a year on this program? More than 10 years? Yes. So that's over a trillion dollars. Okay. I understand that we was not ranked number one in math recently either, but something

there seems off, right? Don't have to be a mathematician. Maybe there's a Democrat on this committee who can help them out a little bit. Madam Secretary, I'm not a great mathematician, but I think you were talking about a trillion dollars. I believe 1.5 billion times 10 is 15 billion dollars. That's a little bit off from a trillion dollars. I think the budget cuts one point two billion for sure one point two weeks that would be twelve billion dollars not a trillion dollars

okay jesus christ do we do some historical hiccups while we're here let's do some historical hiccups do you know what the Tulsa race massacre is? I'd like to look into it more and get back to you on it okay so uh... i look forward to that how about uh... the Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges, for instance? I haven't read that. Have you learned about Ruby Bridges? If you have specific examples you'd like to try, I'll be very happy. It was an incredibly specific example. I named this

book. I will look into it and get back to you. Lord have mercy. What about when she was questioned about DEI programs? That's the Holocaust one. Do you think that Holocaust education in our schools is a DEI program? There's no card for that. That's just yes or no. I can look at it whatever card. Holocaust education. Is it a DEI? You can have a press conference to say whatever you want. I just need a quick card I choose. Holocaust education, is it a DEI? You can have a press conference to say whatever you want. I just need a quick answer to this. You're soliloquy. Is Holocaust, because this is my time, is Holocaust education a DEI program?

No. Is African American Studies a DEI program? I think I answered that with one of your problems. I'm asking it again. We should be able to teach courses in their environment. My point is they are DEI programs, both of them, because students need diversity, equity, and inclusion to understand their environments. You're talking out of both sides of your mouth. You can't support one without supporting the other.

Now I'm not the highest grade of weed in the dispensary, but it's safe to say she has no idea what she's talking about. And she's the Secretary of education. These aren't isolated incidents ladies and gentlemen. Linda McMahon has previously referred to artificial intelligence as A1. A1 is a delicious steak sauce. Not AI. And listen, one thing the Trump administration has not done yet in its second term is prove people wrong. Linda McMahon is not qualified to be department of education. we knew this soon as it was announced. Okay I don't understand the attack on DEI. The basis basis of it is people aren't qualified for their jobs

they're just getting them because of their identity. Um hello what's the difference here? Okay Linda got this job because she's friends with Donald Trump. If you identify as a loyalist to Trump, you get these kinds of positions. So what I really hate is when people say things like, this Senate hearing is casting doubt on her ability to lead the Department of Education effectively. Casting doubt? Listen, having Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education,

that's like giving DJ academics two bottles of Hennessy and asking him to run a quiet meditation retreat. Linda, you can't go in front of the Senate and get put in a cripple across face by basic math. Linda can script the undertaker coming back from the dead, but can't script the coherent answer to how numbers work. I'm not saying everybody in government needs to be a genius, but if you're going to run education, you should probably know how to count and maybe,

just maybe, understand a little bit of America's history. I know that Linda McMahon being Secretary of Education is fantastic content for late night talk show hosts and morning show radio hosts, but America, the implications for the nation's education system are no laughing matter. Okay, perhaps it's time to consider whether the role of education secretary should require at the very least a firm grasp on elementary math. Please let Chelsea Handler give the Secretary of Education

Lyndon McMahon the biggest hee-haw. Hee-haw, hee-hawha that is way too much Dan Maynard's mm-hmm all right first it was the head of FEMA not knowing that America had a hurricane season mm-hmm now it's Linda McMahon not knowing basic math and what should be basic history that lady was on her ass though what what oh no they was eating her up they was eating her up representative Johanna Hayes and representative Summer Lee oh they was on her head she tried was eating her up. Representative Johanna Hayes and Representative Summer Lee. Oh, they was on her head. She tried to hit him with the, I don't recall. I have to do some research and get back at

you. I'm asking again. Don't say it again. But they were just proving a point. They were just spiking the football. They know that woman is not qualified to be in that role. They were just proving it in that moment, again. All right. Well, thank you for that donkey today. Up next, Jess Fix My Mess, 800-585-1051. You're having some problems, some issues in your relationship.

Call Jess right now. It's The Breakfast Club. Good morning. The Breakfast Club. Donkey of the Day is sponsored by renowned personal injury attorney, Michael the Bull Lamonsoff. Don't be a donkey when you need a fighter on your side.

If you're ever injured, go to michaelthebull.com. That's michaelthebull.com. And when you mess with the bull, you get the horns. Over the years of making my true crime podcast, Hell and Gone, I've learned no town is too small for murder. I'm Catherine Townsend. I've heard from hundreds of people across the country with an unsolved murder in their community.

I was calling about the murder of my husband. The murderer is still out there. Each week I investigate a new case. If there's a case we should hear about call 678-744-6145. Listen to Hell and Gone Murderline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you've ever wondered what diseases, medieval pee tests, and cocktails have in common, you're in the right place. On our show, This Podcast Will Kill You, we explore the wild world of diseases, their history, biology, and impact today. Vaccines are in part a victim of their own success.

They have been so effective in preventing disease and death that we take them for granted. New episodes drop every Tuesday on the Exactly Right Network. Listen to This Podcast Will Kill You on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Amy Robach and TJ Holmes here. Diddy's former protege, television personality, Denity King alum, Aubrey O'Day, joins us to provide a unique perspective on the trial

that has captivated the attention of the nation. It wasn't all bad, but I don't know that any of the good was real. I went through things there. Listen to Amy and TJ Presents, Aubrey O'Day covering the Diddy Trial on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Why is a soap opera western like Yellowstone so wildly successful? The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat

Eater podcast network. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to The American West with Dan Flores on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.