Watch: CNN Segment Erupts After ‘Shark Tank’ Star Kevin O’Leary Takes Aim At Teachers Unions

Teachers unions have been the source of significant political debate in recent years, but the topic has taken on new relevance in the context of President Donald Trump’s push to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.

During a recent CNN panel discussion, businessman Kevin O’Leary, best known for his appearances in the reality TV series “Shark Tank,” took on fellow panelists Bakari Seller and Ashley Allison with his indictment of teachers unions.

As the Daily Caller reported, O’Leary asserted that unions are responsible for keeping “mediocre teachers in place in every high school in American when we should be firing them.”

The backlash from Sellers and Allison was immediate:

Allison took issue with O’Leary’s comments, trying to use her past as a teacher to oppose the layoffs at the Department of Education.

“But what do those cuts actually say — impact —” Allison said before O’Leary said, “What it means is — the lowest paid person in in America that deserves a lot more money is a great teacher.”

“I agree, as a former teacher,” Allison responded, with O’Leary saying, “And we can’t — in the system of unions in America, we keep mediocrity festering. We’re destroying the education system —”

Sellers cut in, claiming that some of the states struggling, the teachers’ unions were “weak.”

Here’s a sampling of similar criticism shared on social media recently:

REMINDER: Teachers' union bosses lobbied to shut down schools AND then keep them closed.

Now, education outcomes have plummeted nationwide. These teachers' unions put their leftist agenda ahead of students. pic.twitter.com/kzKvIMaGNP

— Public Labor Unions Accountability Committee (@PLUACommittee) March 10, 2025

Washington is giving $70 million of your tax money to the Washington Education Association (WEA) a teachers union that helps get Democrats elected

None of that money is spent in the classroom

Check out our latest KV-Eye on the Legislature with @BrandiKruse pic.twitter.com/SlOUFsn8nt

— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) March 3, 2025

Teachers’ unions fought to keep schools closed, blocked alternatives, and smeared families for trying to help their kids learn. As a result, chronic absenteeism and school choice surged, and trust in the system eroded. @rickhess99 has the receipts. pic.twitter.com/7nXIT0qeGi

— Dale Chu (@Dale_Chu) March 9, 2025

O’Leary’s comments came as about half of the Education Department’s staff learned that they were being laid off, as NewsNation reported:

“Today’s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement.

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The statement added that the department will continue to deliver on programs, including formula funding, student loans, Pell Grants, funding for students who are disabled and competitive grantmaking.

This makes it so the department’s workforce will total 2,183 workers, down from 4,133 when President Donald Trump first took office.

Included in this number are nearly 600 employees who took buyouts.

Here’s how one teachers union shop steward reacted to the news:

🚨Fmr DoE civil rights attorney and teachers union shop steward Brittany Coleman — “I’m angry” for being laid off at DoE:

"Our jobs are protecting the American public." pic.twitter.com/1FlivZWvL4

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) March 12, 2025

And here’s a full clip of the CNN panel discussion: