Even though the coronavirus pandemic has presented unorthodox challenges for the United States, President Donald Trump is pushing for schools to re-open in the fall. On Tuesday, the president and First Lady Melania Trump held a forum designed to promote local school districts to reopen in the fall. The event allowed lawmakers, teachers, administrators, students, and parents space for them to discuss the "best practices" to reopen schools amidst this health crisis safely.
During this event, Trump reportedly warned that his administration would put "a lot of pressure" on governors and others to reopen schools later this year, as USA Today noted. He said, "Everybody wants it. The moms want it. The dads want it. The kids want it. It's time to do it." The president also downplayed the coronavirus crisis, as he stressed that death rates from the virus have been going down (scientists fear that those numbers will begin to go up again soon). "We want to get our schools open – we want to get them open quickly," Trump said, adding that he believes that the fall will be "a much better climate than it is right now."
The first lady explained to those at the event that they should inform children about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines and to implement those practices as needed. "When children are out of school, they're missing more than just stuff in the classroom," she said. "They're missing the laughter of their friends, learning from their teachers and the joy of recess and play." If you want to check out the scene of this meeting for yourself, read on to see the president and first lady in action.
