Trump Shares His Opinion About Schools Opening In Fall That No One Asked For

Literally no one asked Trump’s opinion on whether schools should open this fall but that didn’t stop him from giving it

States are starting to move forward with sharing their ideas and plans for how the 2020-2021 school year will look amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. While considering your family’s options, did it occur to you to wonder what President Trump, a man with zero expertise on the subject, had to say? Probably not, but he’s sharing his pearls of wisdom anyway.

“SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!” the president shrieked in all caps on Twitter today. I mean, this is extremely on-brand for him — literally shouting his uneducated opinion as though it were not only fact, but a declaration not to be questioned.

What the president is missing here with his dopey blurting and total lack of nuance is how much there is to consider before opening schools this fall. In fact, administrators and teachers all over the country are having that discussion as we speak, and frankly, none of the possibilities are perfect for students, their parents, or teachers and staff. There’s so much to consider as we figure out how to navigate our children’s education mid-pandemic, but literally yelling that schools “MUST” open this fall is about as helpful as tits on a bull.

Thing is, the scientific jury is still very much out on how easily kids are able to spread the novel virus to adults, who have been statistically shown to suffer its ill effects far more often than the younger population. Which isn’t to say that kids are free of risk — a number of cases of a disturbing inflammatory illness possibly linked to COVID-19 have popped up in children and so far, doctors are struggling to figure it out.

With so many unknowns and literal lives at stake, it seems a bit… oh, I don’t know, blindingly ignorant, short-sighted, and dangerous to just shout that schools MUST open in the fall. Oh, and PS: forget fall — I live in the south and our district’s start date is slated for early August. As COVID cases in some southern states (including mine) continue to skyrocket, it’s hard to imagine how our kids and their teachers will safely return to the classroom for in-person instruction in barely a month’s time.

But Trump doesn’t seem remotely concerned, y’all! Which is just awesome as I legit lose sleep while weighing the risks and benefits of either keeping my middle school kids home, isolated, and lonely, or sending them for in-person instruction (our district is offering both options) where they may be exposed to the virus, making themselves or my husband and I (or all of us!) seriously ill.

Bottom line, Trump tweeting this fully unhelpful nonsense is ridiculous and he’s clearly pandering to his base while not considering what a full return to school will mean for all involved. It comes as no surprise that the Narcissist in Chief doesn’t seem to give a shit about the health and safety of millions, but it sure would be nice if he did.