President Trump said he wanted American schools to be reopened because ‘our country isn’t reopened if they’re closed.’
He told reporters in a meeting with governors Wednesday that the coronavirus has ‘very little impact on young people.’
And he lashed out at Dr. Anthony Fauci twice on Wednesday, telling reporters in the Cabinet Room that ‘he wants to play all sides of the equation.’
President Trump demanded schools be reopened during a meeting with governors on Wednesday, blasting Dr. Anthony Fauci for preaching caution, saying that Fauci ‘wants to play all sides’
In an interview conducted earlier Wednesday, the president told Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo that he totally disagreed with Dr. Anthony Fauci on schools, adding that while Fauci is a ‘good person’ he’s someone the president has ‘disagreed’ with
Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before the Senate HELP Committee on Tuesday and said school officials needed to study the ‘dynamics of the outbreak’ in their areas before reopening institutions in the fall. He also voiced concerns about children getting sick from COVID-19
Dr. Anthony Fauci (onscreen) had talked about a concerning trend in children who were likely exposed to COVID-19 in response to Sen. Rand Paul (center) saying he didn’t think Fauci should be the ‘end all’ in coronavirus advice and suggesting schools should be reopened on a district-by-district basis
In an interview with Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo earlier in the day, Trump said, ‘I totally disagree with him on schools,’ after Fauci preached caution during Tuesday’s Senate hearing on the coronavirus response.
He told the Fox Business anchor that Fauci was a ‘good person’ but someone he’s ‘disagreed’ with.
He told reporters at the White House that he was ‘surprised’ when Fauci expressed concerns about opening businesses and schools prematurely.
‘I was surprised by his answer, actually, because, you know, it’s just to me it’s not an acceptable answer especially when it comes to schools,’ the president said when asked what he meant about Fauci trying to play ‘all sides.’ ‘The only thing that would be acceptable as I said is professors, teachers, etc., over a certain age, I think they ought to take it easy for another few weeks.’
Fauci never said that schools shouldn’t be reopened.
He did say that decision-makers needed to observe the status of the virus in their area before the first day of school in the fall.
‘We just have to see, on a step-by-step basis, as we get into the period of time with the fall, about reopening the schools exactly where we’ll be and the dynamics of the outbreak,’ Fauci testified before the SENATE Help Committee.
During a back-and-forth with Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, Fauci said that institutions should be cautious because ‘we don’t know everything about this virus.’
‘And we really better be careful, particularly when it comes to children,’ said the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. ‘I think we better be careful if we are not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects,’ Fauci added.
He pointed to the fact that children ‘presenting with COVID-19’ were experiencing a ‘strange inflammatory syndrome,’ which Fauci noted was similar to Kawasaki disease, where patients’ blood vessels become inflamed.
On Tuesday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio reported that a total of 52 New York City children had been diagnosed with the syndrome, with another 10 cases pending. One child had died.
Fauci was responding to Paul who had griped that he didn’t believe the doctor should be the ‘end all’ in coronavirus advice.
Paul, who has libertarian tendencies, was lambasting the idea that the federal government – with the guidance of the coronavirus taskforce – would make decisions pertaining to schools.
‘And I think the one-size-fits-all that we’re going to have a national strategy and nobody is going to go to school is kind of ridiculous,’ Paul said. ‘We really should be doing it school district by school district.’
Trump again said Wednesday that it would be the governors’ choice on when schools would reopen.
And Fauci said later in the hearing, to a question posted by Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, that school openings wouldn’t be handled ‘universally.’