Trump slams America's schools in a rally: 'Some countries you've never even heard of are ahead of the USA'
"Common Core is out! It's out," he proclaimed, in a riff on the state of American education that was followed by loud applause.
Trump's position against the standards isn't surprising, as there is near universal opposition to the Common Core among Republican politicians.
Last year saw even bolder rhetoric against the Common Core, with backlash against the standards on both sides of the aisle. Former Republican proponents of the Common Core, including Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey (who just endorsed Trump) and Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, flipped their stance and condemned the standards.
And in New York state, parents banded together in 2015 to boycott the standardized tests linked to the Common Core, succeeding in a 20% opt-out rate. That has given pause to once staunch supporters of the Common Core like Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, who is a Democrat.Vitriol for the Common Core has become so high that some states have even rebranded the standards.
Trump's statement on Friday also echoed past criticism he's had for the nationwide standards. In a video he uploaded to Facebook in January, Trump vowed to end Common Core.
"Common Core's a total disaster," he said. "We're going to end Common Core."
In the video, Trump also took a swipe at American public schools, saying the US was rated "28 in the world" in terms of education and that it lags behind what he called "third-world countries."