Former President Donald Trump was interviewed in-studio on “Fox & Friends” Friday morning, where he addressed various topics, including his desire to remove education from federal oversight. During the interview, Trump answered questions from “Fox & Friends” viewers nationwide via video. One question came from an autistic student in Wisconsin who expressed concern about the lack of school choice for autistic children.
“I have high-functioning autism, but my autism means I am only allowed to go to public schools that teach things that promote things against my values and faith. This makes life hard and confusing,” the student said. “When you become president, what can you and JD Vance do to help other students like me to have a choice of schools?” Trump responded: “Well, thank you very much. It’s all about school choice. You know, that’s one of the biggest things on my platform. It’s about school choice, and we’re also going to get it out of Washington.”
Trump criticized the U.S. government’s spending on education, noting that it allocates more money per pupil than many other countries. According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. spends $15,500 per elementary and secondary education student, ranking fifth highest among countries. Despite this high expenditure, Trump stated that the U.S. education system is falling behind other nations. The Republican nominee then emphasized that his administration would “let the states run the schools.”
“You give the schools to Iowa, they’re going to be another Norway. It’s going to be great,” he said. “You give them to so many different states, Indiana, they’re dying to do it. They can do it for less than half [the funding], and you will have those states competing with the best countries.” Trump added that his goal for the Department of Education is to “have one person working there, maybe with a secretary.” He noted further: “Because we want to make sure they’re teaching English, right? And let’s say reading, writing, and arithmetic, not transgender[ism].”
WATCH:
President Trump responds to a young Wisconsin man whose autism limits the scope of schools he’s allowed to attend:
“It’s all about school choice… We’re going to get it OUT of Washington!” pic.twitter.com/rnMdEKf0sS
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 18, 2024
Trump stated last month that if elected, he would work to “eliminate” the Department of Education. “We will drain the government education swamp and stop the abuse of your taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America’s youth with all sorts of things that you don’t want to have our youth hearing,” he told supporters at a rally in Wisconsin.
