White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany in a public announcement alleged that there was “media bias” over a statement she made on reopening schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
McEnany called the situation a “Case Study in Media Bias,” and wrote in a Twitter post that the media had “deceptively” suggested that she was making a point opposite to what she wanted to express.
In the Twitter post, McEnany had shared a post from a media outlet that featured the following in the text body: “White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on school reopenings: The science should not stand in the way of this,'” along with a video of a slightly longer excerpt of what McEnany said.
In the same post, McEnany pointed out that she had said another sentence: “The science is very clear on this…the science is on our side here. We encourage our localities & states to just simply follow the science. Open our schools.”
The comments were made at a press briefing McEnany held at the White House on Thursday afternoon.
McEnany was asked by a reporter about what President Donald Trump would convey to parents about what to do about children whose school districts have decided to hold online classes only.
The question comes amid announcements on Monday by Los Angeles Unified School District and San Diego Unified School District—Californias two largest school districts—that students will continue with remote learning because there will not be any in-person learning when the academic year begins in August.
McEnany responded that Trump has “said unmistakably that he wants schools to open … And when he says open, he means open in full—kids being able to attend each and every day at their school.”
She added, “The science should not stand in the way of this. And as Dr. Scott Atlas said—I thought this was a good quote—Of course, we can do it. Everyone else in the Western world, our peer nations are doing it. We are the outlier here.”
“The science is very clear on this, that—you know, for instance, you look at the JAMA Pediatrics study of 46 pediatric hospitals in North America that said the risk of critical illness from COVID is far less for children than that of seasonal flu,” McEnany continued.
“The science is on our side here, and we encourage for localities and states to just simply follow the science, open our schools. Its very damaging to our children: There is a lack of reporting of abuse; theres mental depressions that are not addressed; suicidal ideations that are not addressed when students are not in school. Our schools are extremely important, theyre essential, and they must reopen,” she added, concluding her response to the question.
Several media outlets late Thursday reported McEnanys quote, “the science should not stand in the way of this,” as part of their headlines. Some outlets characterized the latter part of her quote, “the science is very clear on this … the science is on our side here,” as an immediate about-face move following the initial quote.
McEnany was citing a study published in May in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The study noted that as of April 28, the CDC noted just 8 deaths in children 14 years or younger that is related to COVID-19, compared to 169 influenza-related deaths in children of the same ages during the 2019-2020 seasons, with 81 of such deaths having occurred in 2020.
“Thus, up to this time of the pandemic in North America, children continue to face a far greater risk of critical illness from influenza than from COVID-19, pointing to the imperative for ongoing preventive pediatric health maintenance during this time,” the study authors stated. They noted that there were limitations to the study, however, including the idea that “hospitalized severely ill children during this sampling period may not have been tested for lack of suspicion of the disease, testing capability, or both.”
In March, due to COVID-19 fears, 75 million students were sent out of classrooms and onto computers to resume learning from home. Teachers and administrators scrambled to find the best way to teach online and provide as much support as possible from afar.
Most schools in the United States remain closed for in-person learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for schools across the nation to reopen for in-person learning, and earlier this month said that the administration may withhold funding to schools that dont open.
“Germany, Norway, so many countries right now, theyre open,” Trump said at an event at the White House on July 10. “The schools are open and theyre doing just fine, and theyre opening in the fall. So we have to get our schools open. Denmark, Sweden. We have to get our schools open.”
There have been concerns over the possibility that children could still spread the illness to older teachers and school employees, as well as carry the illness home to older relatives.
“How do I keep my 55-year-old teacher from getting sick, who has diabetes and maybe some underlying health problems and theyre not discussing that and thats what they need to discuss now,” Pat Gardner, president of the Sarasota Classified/Teachers Association, told WUSF.
