Ex-Obama Education Sec. Torches Trump’s Push to Open Schools: ‘No Body Count High Enough’ for Him to Pay Attention to Science
Arne Duncan, the former Secretary of Education under Barack Obama, torched President Donald Trump’s willingness to re-open schools, saying on MSNBC Monday afternoon that “there’s no body count high enough for the president to pay attention to science.”
Last Friday, the president threatened to cut federal government funding from schools if they don’t hold in-person classes in the fall. While leaked CDC internal documents show schools would be one of the “highest risks” for the spread of Covid-19, members of Trump’s administration like Betsy DeVos have still pushed for a full school re-opening come August despite rising virus numbers nationwide.
“If schools aren’t going to reopen and not fulfill their promise, they shouldn’t get the funds,” DeVos told Fox’s Chris Wallace on Sunday. “Then give it to the families to decide to go to a school that is going to meet that promise.”
“Basically the president has no authority to compel schools to open,” Duncan said after watching a clip of DeVos’ comments. “The president does not fund schools. Congress funds 10 percent of K-to-12 education, not the president. This is an absolute bluff. Honestly, this is important because it misses the point.”
“The real travesty here is there’s no body count high enough for the president to actually pay attention to science,” Duncan continued. “We could lose another 10,000. We could lose another 50,000. We could lose another 100,000. Nothing would compel him to listen to Dr. [Anthony] Fauci and others who are actually trying to fight to save lives.”
While Fauci has warned that “we haven’t begun to see the end” of the Covid-19 pandemic, he’s been sidelined from the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force and hasn’t spoken to Trump in a month.
“Mr. Secretary, the idea that there no body count high enough for Donald Trump has dawned on me before,” MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace responded to Duncan. “I’ve just never heard it articulated like that. I think it’s haunting.”
Watch above, via MSNBC.
