Even though coronavirus cases are rising ominously in at least 36 states and some (Arizona, Florida, Texas) are considering shutting down their states to help control spread of the virus, Donald Trump is insisting that when cooler weather arrives in the Fall, he expects schools to be open and filled with students. He’s even floated the idea of taking federal education funds from states or localities that refuse to open their doors.

But while Congressional Republicans have been mostly supportive of Trump’s desperate attempt to make it appear that everything is back to normal in order to rescue his fading chances of being reelected, there’s also increasing backlash in the states and among organizations that are normally supportive of the administration, according to Poltico:

“An overwhelming alignment of state and even Republican-aligned organizations oppose the rush to reopen schools. The nation’s leading pediatricians, Republican state school chiefs, Christian colleges and even the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have all challenged parts of Trump’s pressure campaign.

“’Threats are not helpful,’ Joy Hofmeister, the Republican state superintendent of public instruction in Oklahoma, told POLITICO on Friday. ‘We do not need to be schooled on why it’s important to reopen.'”

“The bullish position of ‘open your doors or don’t get money’ is ill timed, misinformed and doesn’t reflect the nuanced work that goes into the decisions state and local leaders have to weigh.”

Despite those concerns being voiced by people at the local level, the White House is moving forward with its plans, always pretending they care about parents and students despite the clear goal of reopening schools: To salvage Trump’s reelection campaign, with Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, telling Fox News on Friday that not having schools open places parents in an untenable bind:

“You talk to a single working mom, she’s got to send her kid to school, the kids at home, she can’t go to work, she may not be able to afford help. It’s also true with working folks who are two-person families and I think that’s an important part of this.”

Of course, the solution to such a quandary would be for the administration to increase funding for distance learning, daycare, and other social services that would help parents and their children better deal with the situation. But that isn’t going to happen because neither the president or anyone in his administration gives a flying red fark about women, children, or the mounting COVID-19 death toll. It’s all about Trump’s perverted desire to gain more power if he gets a second term in office.

Children are expendable to Trump and Republicans. They only care about themselves. The rest of us are nothing more than chattel.