Brown praised West Virginia teachers who held a nine-day strike in early 2018, saying: "When this society fails to pay its teachers a living wage, it's pretty shameful. Those teachers engaged the public to put pressure on a Republican legislature that historically underfunds education and they got the legislature to finally do the right thing. So I was proud of those teachers for standing up." He also praised other recent activist demonstrations, such as the gun violence protests by Parkland High School students in Florida and the Women's March after President Trump's inauguration, saying: "That's what makes our country great — when people stand up and push back when they're mistreated."