“Science shouldn’t stand in way of schools reopening,“ said White House press secretary, defending President Donald Trump‘s calls to reopen schools.
“The president has said unmistakably that he wants schools to open. I was just in the Oval talking to him about that, and when he says open, he means open in full; kids being able to attend each and every day at their school,” said Kayleigh McEnany, White House press secretary.
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Despite ongoing spikes in COVID-19 cases in some areas. The press secretary said, “the science should not stand in the way of this,” and later contradicted her statement saying, “The science is on our side here…”
According to the Center for Disease and Control (CDC), there have been almost 3,483,832 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States. The reports also state that there have been 136,938 confirmed COVID-19 related deaths on July 17.
“We encourage for localities and states to just not simply follow the science, open our schools. It’s very damaging to our children: there is a lack of reporting of abuse; there are mental depressions that are not addressed; suicidal ideations that are not addressed when students are not in school. Our schools are extremely important, they’re essential, and they must reopen,” McEnany continued.
On July 6, President Trump tweeted, “Corrupt Joe Biden and the Democrats don’t want to open schools in the Fall for political reasons, not for health reasons! They think it will help them in November. Wrong, the people get it!”
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Multiple reports have highlighted the president’s belief that keeping schools closed is not a public health concern.
According to Complex, the president said, “They think it’s going to be good for them politically, so they keep the schools closed. No way. We’re very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools. We want to reopen the schools. Everybody wants it. The moms want it, the dads want it, the kids want it. It’s time to do it.”
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