Once again radical left-wing MSNBC host Al "Al "Tawana Brawley" Sharpton railed against reopening schools this fall. On Sunday’s edition of PoliticsNation, Sharpton made the ridiculous claim that President Trump and Republicans want to reopen schools because it will hurt minority students.
Sharpton asserted that sending students back into the classroom would only incite fears in parents and serve as a way to boost Republican victories in November:
But of course, parents are being held captive to other fears and agendas. The Trump administration fears that schools remaining safely online would undercut his lies about the pandemic being under control. And so he and his minions are pursuing an agenda of reopening at any cost, using threats when necessary and preparing to sacrifice the lives of America's school children, teachers, and support staff to bolster Republican re-election chances.
He could not be any more wrong. Earlier on his program, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio touted the statistic that seventy-five percent of New York City parents want the schools to be reopened in the fall.
Sharpton also fell short with the claim that Republicans are doing this to help their reelection chances. Republicans want to reopen the schools because the science is on their side. Reopening schools isn’t just about students getting a much needed education after losing months of classes; reopening schools helps with social and emotional skills, nutritional needs, and ensuring children are being physically active.
Per usual, Sharpton had to race-bait as a defense for his absurd claims:
The cynic in me thinks Republicans are ready to make this gamble, because they think school reopening’s, like the course of the pandemic generally, will mostly hurt black people, who are unlikely to vote for them anyway, and don't get me wrong. This callous demand to cram students into classrooms at any cost will absolutely hurt black and brown communities the worst, but the damage will not be neatly contained in Democratic strongholds.
The closure of schools this past spring disproportionately hurt minority communities, but Sharpton does not care about that. By using race-baiting tactics, Sharpton is inciting fear in his viewers, for not just reopening schools, but reopening the country in general.
Sharpton wants to continue to paint the picture that America is in a dark place because of the pandemic in order to hurt Trump’s reelection chances. If he actually cared about children’s education, he would be the biggest proponent for reopening the schools this fall.
Regardless of what the science says, Sharpton and MSNBC do not care. Their only objective is to hurt the President and Republicans down ballot. If school reopening meant it would help Democrats, Sharpton would absolutely be on board with it.
This anti-Trump smear was sponsored by Jeep and All State. To fight back against MSNBC, go here to contact their advertisers.
Read the full transcript below:
MSNBC’s PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton
07/26/2020
5:28:18 PM
AL SHARPTON: For tonight's gotcha, I want to talk about one of the core values of today's Republican Party. Rank hypocrisy, and it starts at the very top, with the President of the United States.
(Clip of President Trump)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: To have a big convention, it's not the right time. I would like to see the schools open. Open 100%. And we'll do it safely. We'll do it carefully.(cuts back to Sharpton)
SHARPTON: The President was finally convinced that he had to cancel the in-person Jacksonville Republican National Convention. Though personally, I think he was more worried about optics if nobody showed up than about anybody's health. And yet, he is still insisting that Americans send their children back to school, regardless of the science. Including in the very county his own party deemed too high risk for their convention. And his administration takes their cues from him.(clip of Betsy DeVos)
BETSY DEVOS (SECRETARY OF EDUCATION): Parents and their children can't be held captive to others' fears or agendas.
(cuts back to Sharpton)
SHARPTON: But of course, parents are being held captive to other fears and agendas. The Trump administration fears that schools remaining safely online would undercut his lies about the pandemic being under control. And so he and his minions are pursuing an agenda of reopening at any cost, using threats when necessary and preparing to sacrifice the lives of America's school children, teachers, and support staff to bolster Republican re-election chances. And the most galling things, Republicans want us to risk our children's health but they're not willing to do the same. Here's Republican Florida Senator Rick Scott.(clip of Senator Rick Scott)
SENATOR RICK SCOTT (R-FL): Every parent is going to make different choices and that's exactly what the states ought to be doing. You know, to give parents as many choices as possible. You know, my daughters are going to be more focused on distanced learning right now to make sure their children are safe.
(cuts back to Sharpton)
SHARPTON: And Senator Scott is hardly alone. The President's own son attends a school that will not fully reopen for in-person class, because of safety concerns about the coronavirus. Despite releasing guidelines that were edited by the white house and all but ignore health risks, the CDC even admits that schools in COVID hot spots should be granted exceptions. And if you're keeping score at home, those hot spots include parts of 33 states.The cynic in me thinks Republicans are ready to make this gamble, because they think school reopening’s, like the course of the pandemic generally, will mostly hurt black people, who are unlikely to vote for them anyway, and don't get me wrong. This callous demand to cram students into classrooms at any cost will absolutely hurt black and brown communities the worst, but the damage will not be
neatly contained in democratic strongholds.A school in Alcoa, Tennessee, is already facing a coronavirus outbreak. This is a county that Trump carried by 50 points in 2016. And sure, some of those Trump voters are probably childless or their kids are too old for school, but many of them are parents with a margin like that and some are undoubtedly teachers, custodians, cafeteria workers, or bus drivers, and they can see that the Republican Party is gambling with their lives. And since the Republican dedication to education is so recent, let me remind them all of a little history that they may have forgotten. The GOP standard bearer, Donald Trump, is perhaps the only man in history to bankrupt two casinos. They say the house always wins. But if you allow Trump to gamble with the lives of American children, teachers, and staff, well, Republicans, better get ready to lose the White House, and the senate. I gotcha.
