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President Donald Trump is insisting that schools open in the fall for in-person classes. During a White House forum, Trump stated “We’re very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools, to get them open.” His focus during the pandemic has largely been on reopening the country. The administration has sought to downplay COVID-19 case numbers in favor of reports on the economy.
“It’s very important. It’s very important for our country. It’s very important for the well-being of the student and the parents. So we’re going to be putting a lot of pressure on: Open your schools in the fall,” Trump implored local officials. Later, on Twitter, Trump suggested that he would look at pulling federal funding for schools that did not open for in-person classes.
Many pundits have wondered why Trump’s attention has turned to schools. There is speculation, given Trump’s reasoning, that he believes local leaders are keeping schools closed in order to spite him. During a rally in Oklahoma, Trump suggested slowing down testing to deflate case numbers. In his opinion, testing is a “double-edged sword,” because it increases the number of confirmed cases.
This has led many to criticize the president for not taking the pandemic seriously. Many critics feel as though the president is treating COVID-19 as a political opponent that he can defeat by ignoring. However, the US is still experiencing soaring coronavirus cases. The novel coronavirus has sickened over three million people in the US, and killed over 100,000.
Schools reopening for classes would be a huge step in returning the country to the feel of normalcy. For months, children and parents have been stuck at home. Many are likely sick of having non-stop Disney classic movies on in the background. Having children go back to school would save parents the headache of having the kids at home, and the expense of finding child daycare.
As such, a focus on schools reopening is understandable in some senses. However, with cases surging and no vaccine or cure for COVID in sight, the US may need to be content with distance learning and home schooling for a while longer.
However, data suggests this could be a premature move going into the fall. Some have framed the current surge in cases as a “second wave” of COVID-19. Troublingly, these cases are more accurately an extension of the first “wave.”
