President Donald Trump's plan to pressure the nation's governors to reopen schools this fall will be boosted by parents, his 2020 campaign communications spokesperson said Tuesday, while commenting about a large education roundtable going on at the White House.
"I think the president has the biggest megaphone, and I think really a lot of the pressure will come from parents in these states, because we all know the president has made very clear that it's important to get schools open in the fall," Murtaugh told Fox News' Bill Hemmer, adding the administration wants the schools to open on time and safely for a few reasons.
"It's just a bad idea to interrupt the educational development of kids all across the country; and second, parents need to have some certainty because as we get this economy moving again," Murtaugh said. "Parents need to be able to get back to work."
Trump said during the event, the administration does not want people to make political statements about reopening schools, and "we're going to very much put pressure on governors to open schools."
Also, during the event, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar commented the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention never recommended schools close for the coronavirus epidemic.
Murtaugh said there are complaints coming from teachers' unions, who oppose reopening schools, but if Joe Biden is elected this fall, "he is in the hip pocket of the teacher's union" and will not do anything unless the union directs him to.
"We know that Joe Biden does not have a thought of his own when it comes to education policy – and he has to do what the union tells him to do," Murtaugh said. "The president is looking at this from the perspective of the students and parents. Students need to get back in the classroom and keep learning and continue their educational experience.
"Parents want their kids to keep learning but also need to be able to go back to work and get the economy moving again. Joe Biden is a guy who's beholden to the teachers union and he will come up with a variety of reasons why it's not possible."
Meanwhile, if state governors reject Trump's pressure, parents will have to push harder, he said.
"Education is very often a local issue and state issue and the pressure is going to have to come from the parents and I think a lot of governors have shown that they can handle these flareups and address them," he said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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