Former Times reporter Alex Berenson backs GOP push to open schools after coronavirus closures: 'Leaders lead'
The journalist has questioned aspects of the US coronavirus response
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Alex Berenson, author and former New York Times reporter, is backing Republican calls to reopen schools as the country looks to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic.
In one of several posts on the issue Tuesday, he shared a link to a new op-ed from House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy endorsing reopening schools and child care centers in a separate tweet, calling it “smart.”
McCarthy argued that reopening schools would both help the economy and parents trying to juggle child care, home schooling and their own full-time jobs. His plan would include congressional help in the form of federal funding, liability protections from “frivolous lawsuits” and new federal studies on the effects of COVID-19 on children.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}EX-NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER ALEX BERENSON: UNREPORTED TRUTHS ABOUT COVID-19 AND LOCKDOWNS
“Leaders lead,” Berenson tweeted separately, praising Gov. Ron DeSantis in response to a report that Florida would require schools to reopen in August.
“Florida will require schools to reopen in August despite a surge in coronavirus cases,” the CNN headline reads.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Agree or disagree with @govrondesantis’s decision to order schools in Florida to reopen fully - and I agree - this is leadership,” Berenson wrote. “The man knows the data about risks to kids and he is doing what he thinks is right.”
Alberto Carvalho, the superintendent of Miami-Dade Schools, praised the state Department of Education for the decision in a statement Monday, saying it appeared to “fully align” with his district’s reopening plan.
“The commissioner’s executive order on the reopening of schools is fair and measured,” he said. “It allows for different instructional models, traditional schoolhouse as well as other innovative options and guarantees fiscal stability during a highly unpredictable time.”
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President Trump, at a White House event Tuesday with first lady Melania Trump, said his administration would “very much put pressure” on governors to reopen their states’ schools in the fall. Berenson suggested that it appears Trump's push to reopen schools has growing support.
“Reopening schools is a powerful issue that crosses party lines,” Berenson wrote in another tweet, this time quoting President Trump, who declared: “Schools must open in the fall.”