A Minnesota public school is looking into the source of a meme targeting President Donald Trump, which was posted on the school's official Facebook page.
Posted on Saturday night to the Garfield Elementary School Facebook page, the meme was a photo of Trump and then–presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during a presidential debate. Accompanying the photo was the sentiment, "People love to hate Hillary, but she called Trump a Russian puppet right to his stupid f*****g face. I'll always respect her for that."
The post has since been taken down, according to The Bemidji Pioneer, but remained up on the page for about 25 minutes. While the post was still visible, several users questioned the appropriateness of the politically charged image and floated the possibility that the page had been hacked. Newsweek reached out to Garfield Elementary School but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Garfield Elementary School Principal Jodi Kennedy told The Bemidji Pioneer that two employees had administrative access to the Facebook page, giving them the ability to post publicly. Both employees denied posting the meme, and by the time Kennedy accessed the page it had already been removed, so she was unable to see if either of the employees posted it.
After becoming aware of the meme, Brainerd Public Schools Superintendent Laine Larson reached out to the district's technology team with a request that they investigate the source. Larson called the content of the meme a "direct denial" of the school district's beliefs.
"It's just so disappointing that this even came on our Facebook page, and we take it very seriously and we will check into it immediately," Larson said. "This is just in total direct opposition to what we believe and support in our school district."
This isn't the first time a school system stoked controversy due to sentiments about Trump. In May 2017, the Brainerd High School yearbook had a page dedicated to Trump where students were asked to share their thoughts on the president. Next to a sophomore's picture, identified by WCCO as "Camryn," was the quote, "I would like to behead him. I do not like him."
The comment went viral on social media, and actor Scott Baio posted about it on Twitter, tagging the president, the FBI and counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway. At the time, Camryn said she and a friend were having a conversation about Trump, and she wasn't aware that her friend was taking down quotes for the yearbook.
"I did not say, 'I want to behead him.' I did not say, 'I am going to behead him.' I just said, 'Well, I'm sure we all wouldn't mind him being beheaded'—something along those lines," Camryn told WCCO. "But there was never the direct quote, 'I do not like him. I would like to behead him."
The school district apologized for the yearbook page and called the statements contrary to the school's educational mission.
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