Kayleigh McEnany: 'Science should not stand in the way' of school reopening

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany sought to defend the Trump administration’s position that schools should fully reopen this fall, falsely saying that the “science is on our side here.”

“When he says open he means open and full, kids being able to attend each and every day at their school. The science should not stand in the way of this,” McEnany said Thursday at a White House press briefing.

However, public health experts within the federal government, who rely on science in making their recommendations, said in a briefing packet on school safety during the COVID-19 pandemic that fully reopened schools present the “highest risk” for spreading the coronavirus.

Multiple major school districts across the country have announced they are not planning to reopen for in-person learning this fall, as they cannot meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for safe social distancing.

Doing so would require space the schools simply do not have, as well as more instructors to make smaller class sizes — an expensive endeavor that schools may not be able to afford amid the coronavirus budget crunch.

The public is also not on board with Donald Trump’s push for full school reopenings.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found 62% of voters think it’s unsafe to reopen schools this fall. And  61% disapprove of Trump’s handling of the school reopening issue.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.