Trump’s comments come as America’s top school districts in states with increasing coronavirus cases challenge his demands that classrooms be physically reopened this fall.
The Los Angeles and San Diego school districts, which collectively enroll more than 700,000 students, announced Monday that they will begin the next school year online, vowing to return to physical classrooms when public health conditions allow.
“While the new school year will begin in August, it will not begin with students on school grounds,” Austin Beutner, superintendent of Los Angeles Unified, said Monday. “The health and safety of everyone in the school community is not something we can compromise.”
New York City schools have announced that they will offer a combination of in-person classes and online learning. In the Washington, DC suburbs, Maryland’s largest district proposes to start the year with virtual learning.
“It is a balancing act, but we have to open schools,” Trump told CBS News. He also repeated his accusations that Democrats are opposed to reopening schools because they want to harm the economy and its chances for reelection.
