Education Sec. Ridiculed for 'Reading Cue Cards,' Refusing to Make Eye Contact During Interview: 'She Was Looking Into Camera A1'

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon was ridiculed Tuesday after refusing to make eye contact during a CNBC interview, prompting a wave of comments across social media.

While discussing Harvard's lawsuit against the Trump administration for freezing millions in federal grants as well as international students' visas, of which the Trump administration has revoked nearly 2,000, McMahon suddenly failed to properly look into a camera.

Social media users offered varied explanations for the 76-year-old Trump official's bizarre behavior. Several believed she was being fed her responses.

"Reading cue cards," one X user proffered.

"She's reading from a script," another added.

"Nobody says 'I think' more than people who don't. And why would they put her cue cards on the ceilin'?" a third X user prompted.

Many made jokes referring to McMahon's gaffe earlier this month in which she referred to AI as A1 during a tech conference.

"She was looking into Camera A1," one X user quipped.

"The A1 steak sauce wasn't helping her here," a second added.

And other social media users chalked McMahon's behavior up to old age and/or dishonesty.

"This administration belongs in a nursing home," a third added.

"When you lie so much you can't even look at the camera," X user @flash_man5 wrote.

During Tuesday's interview, McMahon attempted to frame their funding freeze against Harvard as a civil rights issue and not freedom of speech. Hours later, nearly 200 university presidents, including Harvard President Alan Garber, co-signed a letter condemning the Trump administration's leveraging federal funding to stop students' protests, NBC News reported.