President Trump, pushing for schools across the country to reopen in the fall, said during a coronavirus briefing that he would feel comfortable sending his son and grandchildren to school in the fall.
“Regarding the children in your family, your child, and your grandchildren, are you comfortable? Do you plan to have them back in person at school?” ABC News reporter Jon Karl asked during the White House press conference.
“Yes, well, I’m comfortable with that,” replied the President.
Trump added that his administration has a national strategy to help schools reopen in the fall, but “ultimately depends on the governors.” He said there are “excellent statistics” regarding youth and safety during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I would like to see schools open, 100 percent open, we will do it safely, we will do it carefully,” Trump said, adding that children have “very strong immune systems.”
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The president said his administration was studying whether children easily transmitted the virus and would report next week.
“They say they don’t broadcast very easily, but we are studying that particular topic very hard so they don’t bring it home,” Trump said. “We are reporting over the next week.”
Trump has long demanded the reopening of schools in the fall, as much of the country faces a surge in the coronavirus.
Several districts, including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Baltimore, plan to start the school year entirely online. Several others, including Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia, have announced hybrid online and on-campus learning plans.
The White House has said it is up to localities to decide in what capacity schools will open in the fall, but Trump has threatened to withhold federal funds if schools don’t reopen in the fall.
After turning to Twitter to express his frustration, Trump argued that countries like Germany, Denmark and Norway have reopened schools “without problems.” He also repeated his claim that Democrats want to keep schools closed for political reasons and not because of the risks associated with the coronavirus.
“Democrats think it would be politically bad for them to open schools before the November election,” Trump said, “but it is important for children and families.” You can cut funding if it’s not open! ”
Among those who lobbied for a fall reopening was the chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But Trump said Wednesday that the agency’s school guidelines are “very harsh and expensive.”
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“While they want them to open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. I will meet them! “Trump wrote on Twitter.
CDC Principal Dr. Robert Redfield had emphasized that his agency’s guidelines were only recommendations, and urged schools to find ways to reopen and minimize the spread of COVID-19.
“Nothing would cause me more sadness than seeing any school district or school use our guide as a reason not to reopen,” said Redfield.
However, the White House prevented Redfield from testifying before Congress next week on how to safely reopen schools.
Days later, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Trump was considering giving more aid to schools that reopened for the 2020-2021 academic year.
“The president has said he is willing to consider additional aid to help reopen schools,” Kudlow told FOX Business.
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“If we don’t reopen the schools,” said Kudlow, “that would be a setback to a true economic recovery. So let’s not go there. Let’s use some American ingenuity and common sense to open the schools.”
