Today was “Take Our Daughters and Our Sons to Work Day” and President Trump appeared on the south lawn of the White House to address the children of White House staffers and reporters. It should probably go without saying that Donald Trump should never be allowed around children, to say nothing of allowing him to subject them to whatever toxic rhetoric pops into his head from moment to moment. Not surprisingly, the event was deeply weird.
Trump zeroed in on the day’s name, calling it the “politically correct term” and saying that “we all ways have to be politically correct, right? So that’s good.”
Of course, we know that if there’s one thing the president and his right-wing zealots detest it’s so-called “political correctness.” Why then, is he discussing it with children and pretending he thinks it’s good?
And what exactly is so “politically correct” about the name? The fact that it’s not just “Bring Our Sons to Work Day”? The fact that “Our Daughters” comes first in the name? It’s a bizarre line of thinking from Trump, and one almost gets the sense that he was going to bash the name completely for some reason, then veered course halfway through the comment when he realized how such a rant in front of children would play out in the media.
Speaking to children, Trump says, "It's officially called Take Our Daughters and Our Sons To Work Day, right?" (Children: "YEAH!") Trump: "That's the politically correct term, and we always have to be politically correct, right? So that's good."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 25, 2019
Trump, whose hatred of the free press is both noxious and well-known, told the children at one point that he actually likes them “much more” than he likes their parents. While ostensibly a joke, his attacks on the press in the past have been sincere and dangerous, so for him to make light of his behavior is unacceptable.
The president then asked the kids if they thought their parents’ reporting is accurate most or all of the time and the children responded that it was always fair and honest. “I agree. For the purposes of this speech, I agree,” Trump said, making it abundantly clear that he does not in fact agree.
To attack parents in front of their children, even in an oblique way such as this, would be a scandal under a normal president. Sadly, we’ve come to expect such boorishness and crude manners from our current leader.
Trump: "I even love the media today. I see these beautiful children, products of the media, and I actually like you much more than your parents."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 25, 2019
Trump tells the kids that White House reporters are accurate "most of the time" and report "fairly and honestly." He also asks their kids whether it's "all the time" or just most. When the kids say "all the time," Trump says, "I agree. For purposes of this speech, I agree."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 25, 2019
Watch the full bizarre and rambling speech below.