'Drive kids to death': #KeepYourChildHome trends after shocking Don Winslow video slams Trump over reopening schools
United States President Donald Trump has been facing mounting criticism as the number of coronavirus cases and associated death toll continue to rise. One of the latest celebrities to take up that mantle has been bestselling author Don Winslow, who has started a campaign targeting Trump and his administration's mandate to open schools across the country during the ongoing spread of coronavirus. Winslow is best known for his novels 'Satori' and 'Savages' — the latter was adapted into a screenplay for a film starring Blake Lively and Salma Hayek.
The new video by Winslow was shared with the tag #KeepYourChildHome. Featuring clips of parents and young children, a voiceover warns that "because of Donald Trump and his disastrous policies, you could be driving your own child to their death". The voiceover continues that the administration is lying "every day" and "falsifying data". The video also notes that the administration has been trying to discredit leading infectious diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci of late. The video then insists that the safest place for the child is at home.
The video went viral as many took to social media to reiterate the message in the video. One user noted, "We didn't sacrifice our grandmothers for your economy and we damn sure aren't gonna sacrifice our children for your re-election. #KeepYourChildHome," while another tweeted, "Why should we risk our children’s health?? If he wanted to reopen schools like other countries are now doing, he should have shown real leadership & made the same sacrifices and put in place the same restrictions they did countrywide. #KeepYourChildHome." A user tweeted, "Trump falsified data to force open states. Now unsafe work environments are reclosing businesses. Trump doesn’t learn from mistakes, but governors & parents should. Don’t let him force schools to open. It’s our children now at risk. #KeepYourChildHome."
A user shared, "Thank you. They can protect their donors to the tunes of billions, but they can’t protect our children. This video says it all." Another opined, "I don’t know about you, but come September, I’m definitely NOT driving my kids to a death sentence. #KeepYourChildHome." A user shared, "The guy who looked into an eclipse; suggested nuking hurricanes; refused to put fire sprinklers in his buildings; and has lied to us over 20,000 times in the last 3.5 years cannot be trusted when it comes to our children’s health. #KeepYourChildHome." Another user tweeted, "The most powerful man on planet earth is out there to destroy the future of the most powerful nation on (the) planet by sending kids to school FORCEFULLY."
Earlier this month, Trump threatened to cut federal funding for districts that defied his demand to resume classes in person. The White House also blocked US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr Robert Redfield and other officials from the agency from testifying before a House Education and Labor Committee hearing on reopening schools. According to the Johns Hopkins University, at the time of writing, there were 3,763,395 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country with the death toll standing at over 140,000.