High school teacher and coach fired in Michigan after saying ‘Trump is our president’

Justin Kucera was contacted by officials within Walled Lake school district after he expressed support for President Donald Trump.

Kucera tweeted: "I’m done being silent. @realDonaldTrump is our president [...] Don’t @ me."

After a closed-door meeting with officials from Walled Lake school district, Kucera was given the option to either be fired or to resign, according to the Free Beacon.

"I was required to meet with [human resources], the superintendent, and my principal [on July 10]. They initially took my statement on why I tweeted those tweets and they told me they would have a decision about my future employment in the upcoming days. When they completed the meeting, I was told I had the option to either be fired or resign." Kucera said.

"I know a lot of people are just rooting for Trump to fail, and I don't think that anybody should do that," Kucera added. "Agree with him or not, you should want the president to do well. I apologized that [my tweet] brought so much negative attention, but I'm not sorry for what I said."

What is curious is that the school district denied having taken action against Kucera's support for Trump, saying that "no disciplinary action was taken as a result of any support of President Trump," according to The Detroit News.

The school did not share why Kucera was relieved of his duties at the high school.

"These are difficult times in our community and across our country," Judy Evola, director of community relations for Walled Lake Consolidated Schools, said. "When issues arise, there's a temptation to view items through the lens of our fractured political discourse. Walled Lake encourages students and staff members to engage each other with mutual respect and civility."

Kucera is reported to have been a favorite teacher of many students, with a recent high school graduate from Walled Lake Western saying that Kucera was always supportive of him in everything he did as a student and athlete, adding that "I cannot recall an instance where he shared his political affiliations while teaching or coaching."

One parent of two students who attend Walled Lake Western anonymously shared that Kucera was not a political figure while teaching and coaching, noting that "if there's one thing that I would commend Justin for is, he always tried to stay apolitical. He always tried to stay right down the middle, avoid [political] conversations, and let the students make their own call based on their own life experiences."

One Twitter user commented on Kucera's tweet, saying: "That's why you should be fired promoting schools open & trump at a time when he is causing so much hate & chaos."

Another Twitter user posted: "Come on kucera! [sic] As a social studies teacher you should know just how much these past four years of his presidency has screwed up our economy in the long term! He has not created any long term jobs in the economy, the big border wall is only three miles long and has cost 11 billion."

Kucera did receive support over social media, with Twitter user @juwailes2 tweeting: "It is RIDICULOUS that your district fired you for this tweet. So so wrong (and i'm no fan of the pres. or his pandemic hystrionics). I hope you get your job back (or a better one, but it seems your students would lose out if you left the district)."

The Free Beacon reported that other teachers within the same district have expressed their political views in the classroom without retribution, writing that "Paulette Loe, a now-retired Walled Lake Western teacher, encouraged students to read an article from the Atlantic about 'how to beat Trump' while still employed."

The Free Beacon continued by drawing out that Nicole Estes, a kindergarten teacher in the district, called Trump denigrating names, such as "narcissist" and "sociopath" on Facebook but did not face any backlash.