Des Moines schools spokesman uses obscenity to bash Trump in social media post

The Des Moines Public Schools' director of communications and public affairs may have violated district guidelines Thursday night when he took to social media to oppose President Donald Trump's recent use of a crude term to characterize foreign countries.

"F--- this president," Phil Roeder wrote on his personal Instagram account.

The post has since been edited to remove the obscenity.

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District social media guidelines forbid employees from using "obscene" language on personal accounts.

The post included a photograph of two young girls being pushed in a wheelbarrow.

"These are two of my beautiful great nieces," Roeder wrote. "Their loving father is from Burkina Faso. The President of the United States thinks he's from a shithole. F--- this president."

The post included the hashtag "#f---trump."

The final three words and the hashtag have since been removed. A similar message appears on Roeder's Twitter account.

Roeder could not be reached immediately Friday morning.

The incident will be addressed by Superintendent Tom Ahart, who is Roeder's supervisor.

"I’ve not had time to investigate this case, but it appears that he was not using district equipment or district time or communicating as a representative of the district," Ahart said.

"However, the language used does not comport with our district standards and that will be addressed in a confidential manner as is the case with most personnel issues," he said.

DMPS social media guidelines state that messages "should reflect the same standards of honesty, respect and consideration they are expected to adhere to in all forms of communications and interactions."

In addition, it requires that employees not use "defamatory" or "obscene" language, and advises caution with "colorful language."

The policy does not forbid employees from posting personal political opinions, but official school or district accounts cannot be used to advocate for or against a political candidate or ballot initiative.

The policy acknowledges employees' right to share opinions under the First Amendment. Roeder has written opinion columns for the Des Moines Register that share his position as a registered Democrat.

Roeder previously worked as deputy chief of staff for communications for Democratic Gov. Chet Culver and as a spokesperson for former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin.

Roeder has won acclaim for his work in public relations, including being named the 2016 Communicator of the Year by the Iowa School Public Relations Association.

The award included recognizing Roeder's leadership in expanding the district's online engagement through official Facebook, Twitter and Flickr pages, and the district's Pinterest and YouTube and Instagram accounts.