donald trump2024 standard speech includes a vote which invariably receives applause from the far right: “I won’t give a dime to any school that has a vaccine mandate.” While the Republican did not offer details on how this would work, it raises the prospect of a second Trump administration denying federal funds to schools trying to stop the spread of polio.
But it turns out that this is not the only area in which the former president spoke of denying federal resources for education.
It was last year that Trump, repeating a key element of the Project 2025 blueprint, said he plans close the Department of Education if he were granted a second term – a radical step he was reluctant to take during his tenure in the White House. The Republican Party’s presumptive nominee repeated the promise several times since then.
But, as part of the same proposal, Trump also defends the idea of reducing federal investments in education. Speaking to the Faith & Freedom Coalition over the weekend, the Republican twice said he is prepared to cut federal spending on education in half – even if it means leaving some states worse off.
Hours later, the former president led a rally in Philadelphia, where he made the same proposal. The Washington Examiner reported:
The Republican candidate added that when it comes to education and student achievement, “we are at the bottom of all lists.” This prompted Trump to ask, in reference to his regressive spending plans, “What the hell do you have to lose?”
There is no shortage of problems with this type of proposal, starting with the fact that American students are not, in fact, “at the bottom of all lists”. I would also love to hear Trump explain in more detail why he believes some areas will “get a much better education” with fewer resources.
While he’s at it, perhaps Trump can identify which states he expects “not to perform as well” under his proposed vision for investment in education.
But the historical strangeness is also worth appreciating. While it is true that school budgets depend primarily on local and state spending, the federal government makes some investments that benefit public school districts across the country, and no major party presidential candidate in recent history has run on a platform of reducing these investments. .
And yet here we are, watching Trump talk about cutting education spending in half and admitting that some parts of his own country would be worse off as a result.
So far, this has not been a major campaign issue. Don’t be too surprised if this changes.
This article was originally published in MSNBC.com
