There’s only one thing to understand to make sense of the logic around the push to reopen schools in the middle of a pandemic: Donald Trump wants schools to open because, until they do, many Americans will not be able to return to work. When people cannot work, the unemployment rate stays high. As long as the unemployment rate stays high, Trump has a harder time using the economy as his campaign mantra.
It doesn’t matter if your children, teachers, and the children’s and teachers’ families might get sick and die. Trump wants to win in 2016.
And there it is. Barron Trump's school will not re-open in the fall, meaning that while Trump is demanding everyone else's kids pack into dangerous classrooms, his own son will be safe at home.
Surprised?https://t.co/M2JCo6rshI
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) July 24, 2020
At a press briefing on Friday, Trump said two very contradictory things. First, he cancelled the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, Florida, the second city where Trump had planned to appear. After cancelling the event because Trump said it was his job to keep Americans safe, he then pushed for schools to reopen and has threatened funding for schools if they don’t reopen.
But his own son’s school will be staying closed.
The New York Times reports that:
‘St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, a private school in Washington’s Maryland suburbs, said in a letter to parents that it was still deciding whether to adopt a hybrid model for the fall that would allow limited in-person education or to resume holding all classes completely online as was done in the spring. The school will decide early next month which option to follow.’
Trump: open the schools.
Also Trump: Barron will be staying home.
DeSantis: open the schools.
Also DeSantis: my kids will be distance learning in the fall.
How do these men still have jobs? And jobs of public trust? This is insane.
— Robert J. DeNault (@robertjdenault) July 24, 2020
On Saturday, it was announced that the event will instead be moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, but will be scaled down. Trump will not appear in person at the event. Instead, he will talk to the crowd virtually from a separate location, because it’s not safe for him to be there.
But schools should reopen.
According to Newsweek:
‘Trump is not expected to be present at the Charlotte event and will likely appear virtually instead. Most programming during the four-day convention, which begins on August 24, will be virtual. However, hundreds of delegates will physically take part in some parts of the convention, including the formal nominations for president and vice president.’
Scaled-down RNC moved back to Charlotte after Trump cancels Florida event https://t.co/t0t3vAGZHC
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) July 25, 2020
Trump’s logic isn’t that hard to follow, as protecting himself and his family has always been his own concern. Yours needs to get back to work. Trump needs a win in 2020. It’s not safe for him or his son to go back to normal.
But yours should.
CNN says that:
‘Of all the mind-bending coronavirus decisions that Trump has made, the political risks of his back-to-school gamble are perhaps the greatest. At a time when he is struggling with shrinking support among women, moderates and seniors, he is urging parents to send their children back into the classroom even though much is still unknown about the long-term risks to their health and how rapidly they could spread it to vulnerable adults, including grandparents and teachers.’
President Trump has relented on masks and canceled GOP convention events in Florida. But he is not budging on school reopenings, which he has insisted must happen in person despite coronavirus risks, writes Maeve Reston https://t.co/WDnibKcsN0
— CNN (@CNN) July 25, 2020
