As a rule, public schools and K-12 education tend not to be key issues in presidential elections for an obvious reason: Most policymaking related to schools happens at the local and state levels.
But the rules change when a major-party presidential nominee threatens — over and over again — to defund school districts that he disagrees with.
Donald Trump visited a barbershop in the Bronx with Fox News’ Lawrence Jones, and a voter asked the former president for his ideas about improving education. After rambling a bit about the Department of Education, the Republican got to the heart of his vision:
No transgender, no operations, you know they take your kid. There are some places, your boy leaves the school, comes back a girl, OK? Without parental consent. What is that all about? … Can you imagine, without parental consent? And first, when I was told that was actually happening, I said, ‘You know, it’s an exaggeration.’ No, it happens. It happens. There are areas where it happens.
Right off the bat, it’s important to emphasize that Trump’s claims were utterly bonkers. There are no schools in the United States — literally, not one — performing transgender surgeries. If the GOP nominee genuinely believes “there are areas” where this happens, he’s become completely unfamiliar with daily life in his own country.
What’s more, the local voter in New York asked a fair question about improving schools, and Trump answered by pointing to a problem that only exists in his imagination. That’s not exactly ideal.
But even if we put aside these relevant details, let’s also not overlook the fact that Trump has talked about defunding schools that recognize transgender students.
We’re not talking about surgical procedures; we’re talking about the possibility of a Republican White House pushing to defund local schools that recognize students based on their preferred gender identity.
Meanwhile, last week, Trump also appeared on Fox News and was asked about school districts that teach American history in ways conservatives don’t like. “Then we don’t send them money,” the former president quickly replied.
In case that wasn’t quite enough, Trump has also spent most of the year declaring, at one campaign rally after another, “I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate.” When Trump first started peddling this vow, there was some discussion about whether he was referring specifically to Covid vaccine mandates or all vaccine mandates, but the presumptive GOP nominee, at least publicly, has ignored the distinction. What’s more, in some instances, Trump has said his policy would apply to all public education, “from kindergarten through college.” Or put another way, a second Trump administration — if the candidate’s promises are to be believed — would be prepared to cut federal support from every public school district in the United States, as well as most institutions of higher learning. (Remember, all 50 states require vaccinations for students.) So, taken together, Trump is prepared to cut funding to schools that recognize transgender students, schools that teach versions of history that bother him, and/or schools that try to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. Education hasn’t been much of a 2024 campaign issue. With two weeks remaining, perhaps that should change.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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