#Trump doubles down on threat to cut funding for schools that don’t reopen

President Trump blasted virtual classes Friday as he doubled down on his threat to cut funding to public school districts that don’t reopen in the fall amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Now that we have witnessed it on a large scale basis, and firsthand, Virtual Learning has proven to be TERRIBLE compared to In School, or On Campus, Learning. Not even close!” the president said in a tweet.

“Schools must be open in the Fall. If not open, why would the Federal Government give Funding? It won’t!!!” he added.

Trump said earlier this week that he would pressure governors to reopen schools.

“We’re very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools, to get them open. It’s very important,” he said at a forum attended by health experts and education officials.

Trump also said he didn’t agree with guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for reopening schools.

“I disagree with @CDCgov on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools. While they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. I will be meeting with them!!!,” he tweeted Wednesday.

The agency’s guidelines call for schools to stagger schedules, spread out desks, ensure students stay six feet apart and that they have meals in classrooms instead of gathering in cafeterias.

CDC Director Robert Redfield said the next day that the agency would not revise reopening guidelines after the president ripped them as expensive and burdensome.

“Our guidelines are our guidelines, but we are going to provide additional reference documents to aid basically communities that are trying to open K-through-12s,” Redfield said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “It’s not a revision of the guidelines; it’s just to provide additional information to help schools be able to use the guidance we put forward.”

Redfield added that the reopening of schools was a critical component of the nation’s return to some semblance of normalcy.

Meanwhile, Trump also took a swipe Friday at states amid the rash of violence sweeping the nation.

“Get it done or the Federal Government will come in and get it done for you!” the president said in a tweet.