Trump, Fox News, and the entire conservative movement are moving aggressively to politicize the re-opening of America’s schools during the pandemic. Trying to turn the topic into a partisan one, they’re demanding schools across the country not only open for in-person education, but that 50-plus million American students be forced to sit should-to-shoulder in classrooms. “We’re very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools,” Trump said on Tuesday, standing alongside his wife, Melania. He then threatened to cut off federal funding if schools don’t fill their classrooms with students.
The push is part of the right wing’s deeply misguided crusade to “re-open” America at a time when Covid-19 is not only not under control, it’s raging across the country. The move is also plainly tied to Trump’s re-election campaign, and the GOP fear of him running against the cultural backdrop of shuttered schools across the country. “SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!” he shrieked on Twitter.
