Montage: Media knock Trump for wanting to reopen schools, claim it is not safe
Media figures on MSNBC, ABC and CNN criticized the former president’s insistence on reopening schools and repeatedly claimed it was unsafe to do so.
The Biden administration and Democratic lawmakers have attempted to place blame on Donald Trump for school closures imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but an analysis of major media networks found that Democrats, as well as prominent media figures, repeatedly slammed the former president for trying to reopen schools.
On numerous occasions throughout the summer of 2020, Trump urged schools to reopen in the fall, and even threatened to withhold federal funding for states or cities that did not comply.
"You gotta go to school, we gotta open up, we gotta open up our schools, open up our businesses," Trump said in August 2020.
During one July White House coronavirus taskforce briefing, the former president noted that children were at the lowest risk age group for the virus and predicted that "indefinite" school closures would inflict "lasting harm to our nation’s children."
In this May 6, 2020 file photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Gov. Kim Reynolds, R-Iowa, in the Oval Office. An aggressive push by Iowa's staunchly pro-Trump governor to reopen schools amid the state's worsening coronavirus outbreak has descended into chaos, with some districts and teachers rebelling and experts questioning the data metrics. ((AP Photo/Evan Vucci File))
But, left-leaning media outlets criticized the president’s stance on reopening the economy and school districts across the country, and accused him of playing risky politics with people’s lives.
"Good Morning America’s" T.J. Holmes discussed Trump’s stance on school closures in July 2020, noting that despite "soaring cases," Trump was still choosing to go against the recommendations of federal health experts.
CNN aired a similar segment that same month. The reporter discussed how Trump was urging schools to reopen despite rising cases in more than half the country, and claimed that the former president had argued mental health and economic concerns "outweighed the physical health risks."
Furthermore, CNN’s Anderson Cooper described Trump’s COVID-19 plan as one filled with "denial" and "deception." He went on to accuse the president of listening to the stock market, as opposed to the virus, and bemoaning Trump’s plan to reopen the schools in the same way as the economy
CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota also expressed skepticism over the Trump administration’s plans to reopen schools. While announcing new CDC guidance for reopening, Camerota questioned how it was safe enough for schools to reopen if the GOP had canceled their annual convention in Florida, citing the coronavirus.
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Journalist, Alisyn Camerota visits Build to discuss her new book "Amanda Wakes Up" at Build Studio on July 25, 2017 in New York City. ((Photo by Mireya Acierto/FilmMagic))
"If you want to make it into just politics, because that is where the president is taking it, a political calculation like that is really risky," MSNBC’s Katy Tur said in July.
Dr. Ashish Jha on NBC claimed in August 2020 that it was not safe enough to reopen schools at that time, as did Dr. Jennifer Pena over on MSNBC.
In October 2021, "The View" host Joy Behar said that she was "very skeptical" of reopening schools during an interview with Dr. Jill Biden. At the time, Biden hammered on the fact that the government was listening to the doctors and the scientists when it came to in-person schooling.
"Right now, you know, we have to do this remote learning," she added.
On multiple occasions in 2020 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi pushed back on the idea of a return to in-person learning. In July 2020, she slammed Betsy DeVos for her comments on reopening schools in which the former education secretary indicated that everyone, including children, must live with some degree of risk.
"We don’t want our children to take risks to go to school," Pelosi said.
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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre fielded a question last week about the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showing a steep decline among 9-year-old students in reading and math scores during the COVID pandemic. A reporter wanted to know what the Biden administration planned to do, and asked if the White House shouldered any blame after failing to push for schools to open sooner.
According to the report, average scores for nine-year-old students in 2022 declined five points in reading and seven points in mathematics compared to 2020 – the largest average score decline in reading since 1990 and the first-ever score decline in math. Jean-Pierre quickly blamed the previous administration.
"Let’s step back to where we were not too long ago when this president walked into this administration, how mismanaged the response to the pandemic was, how… in less than six months, our schools went from 46% open to nearly all of them being open full-time. That was the work of this president," she said.
Jean-Pierre also claimed that Democrats were successful in reopening schools "in spite" of Republicans voting against the American Rescue Plan, which allocated $130 billion for schools.
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Miguel Cardona speaks after President-Elect Joe Biden announced his nomination for Education Secretary at the Queen theater on December 23, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. ((Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images))
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona similarly blamed the Trump administration for the severe impact school closures had on the education of American school-aged kids.
"Today’s data confirms the significant impact the prior administration’s mismanagement of the pandemic has had on our children’s progress and academic wellbeing," Cardona said on September 1.
He further went on to claim that the Biden administration will "repair the damage" done by Trump and his official’s.
Since March 2021, the share of public schools offering full-time in-person classes across the country has increased from 54% to 98%, according to the Department of Education.
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Fox News’ Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.