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'Effects of selling one's soul': Kayleigh McEnany slammed for saying 'science' shouldn't stop schools reopening

'And when he says open, he means open in full... The science should not stand in the way of this'
UPDATED JUL 17, 2020
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

The Donald Trump administration faced an embarrassing moment on Thursday, July 16, when White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany vouched for reopening of schools even as the coronavirus cases spiked in the country. She said the reopening of the educational institutes should not be contingent on science surrounding the pandemic but then claimed that “science is on our side”. The US has seen more than 3.5 million people being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic while over 138,000 lives have been lost, according to the Johns Hopkins tracker.

McEnany, who took office in the middle of the pandemic in April, was asked what Trump would say to guardians who have kids in school districts that may run only online. She said: “The president has said unmistakably that he wants schools to open. And when he says open, he means open in full, kids being able to attend each and every day at their school. The science should not stand in the way of this,” McEnany, 31, said adding it is “perfectly safe” to fully reopen all classrooms.

Her remarks came after Vice President Mike Pence, who leads the White House coronavirus task force, said on Wednesday, July 15: “To be very clear, we don't want CDC guidance to be a reason why people don't reopen their schools.” Last week, Pence even said the White House will assess future federal Covid-19 federal relief funds depending on whether or not states reopen school buildings.

(Getty Images)

The press secretary then claimed that “science is on our side” and cited one study that said the risk of coronavirus is less than seasonal flu in kids. She also quoted Dr Scott Atlas, former Stanford Neuroradiology chief who said on Fox News that the debate around reopening schools is “hysteria”. “We encourage localities and states to just simply follow the science, open our schools,” she said.

The administration has been seeking reopening of schools on the assumption that children below 18 are less vulnerable to the virus but that has not convinced the experts. They feel the students could transmit the virus to the elderly people at home.

Trump wants schools reopened because of electoral reasons?

Trump has been accused of bringing into consideration his re-election prospects to push the reopening of schools. According to a piece in the Politico, the president and his team believe that with children returning to schools, the parents also become free to go back to their work which does the economy a favor. The Republican banked heavily on a well-functioning economy to see him through the November election but the coronavirus pandemic has put that plan in jeopardy and his team is now desperately seeking to bring the paralyzed economy back on track even if the cases have spiked.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany with President Donald Trump (Getty Images)

Trump’s poll numbers have plummeted in a number of key states against his presumptive Democratic opponent Joe Biden and this has made his strategists believe all the more that reopening of schools is key to win the trust of the voters, especially women and suburban ones. But the drive has also met objection from people, including the teachers’ unions, parents and others involved with the education sector who want a safer approach in reopening of schools. National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen Garcia even called the president an “idiot” in a call with reporters earlier this month. “...He is saying, ‘Sacrifice your children, sacrifice their teachers, sacrifice their families that they could infect, because I need something to sell in November’,” she said. 

Some states like California and Mississippi have shown trends with children and teenagers contracting the virus in high numbers in recent times. As per a Bloomberg report, the two states are registering rates nearing 10 percent of overall cases, while Florida has witnessed nearly a third of children tested as infected. More and more school districts, including ones in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Atlanta and Austin, Texas, have also planned to start the year with online-only instruction amid a rise in Covid-19 cases.

McEnany, in her address, also said that virtual learning in the fall would make the US an “outlier” among other nations in the West. 

Twitter reacts against McEnany's claims

The press secretary’s remarks received a backlash on social media, even from the Republican Party. Nebraska Legislature member John McCollister said the incident was “embarrassing” in a tweet and asked what had happened to the GOP: "Today, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that schools reopening shouldn't be contingent on the science surrounding coronavirus. 'The science should not stand in the way of this'. What the hell happened to the Republican Party? This is embarrassing."

Author John Pavlovitz blasted McEnany, tweeting: “@PressSec is showing us in real-time the effects of selling one's soul.” Professor Michael McFaul took on the press secretary for saying both that science is on their side and science should not stand in the way. In one tweet, he said: “Dear @PressSec, note that I quoted you twice, asking you to clarify your position. Rather than berating the press as bias, why don't you just admit that you misspoke, clarify the record, and move on. (Ive done it many times in my career; you'd be amazed at how goods it feels!)” 

McEnany had her supporters in the controversy as well. Political commentator Brian Normoyle, for instance, said: “I‘m no fan of this pathologically lying administration or @PressSec’s role in it but this narrative is entirely unfair. Heard in context of the full statement, she clearly was asserting that science supports their policy on reopening schools. This is a misleading gotcha moment.”

McEnany also took to Twitter to defend herself: “Case Study in Media Bias: I said: 'The science is very clear on this... the science is on our side here. We encourage our localities & states to just simply follow the science. Open our schools.' But leave it to the media to deceptively suggest I was making the opposite point!” She slammed the ‘liberal media’ saying it stooped to a new low.

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