Growing number of voters oppose Trump demand to fully reopen schools

A growing majority of voters oppose the Trump administration's demand that schools and colleges fully open for in-person instruction, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll.

In the survey of nearly 2,000 registered voters, 59 percent said they oppose fully reopening K-12 schools for the beginning of the academic year. Those numbers are up from polling last month that showed 53 percent opposed.

With slightly less resistance to the idea of in-person learning for younger and older students, 56 percent of respondents said this month that they are against fully reopening daycares, in contrast to 53 percent in July's survey. For reopening colleges and universities, 57 percent said they were opposed, up from 50 percent in the previous poll.

While Senate Republicans have proposed setting aside tens of billions of dollars in new funding for schools that reopen, pluralities of registered voters believe federal money for schools should neither be increased nor decreased, regardless of whether they open virtually or for in-person instruction.

If schools resort to virtual instruction, 42 percent of Democrats and 45 percent of Republicans said federal funding should remain unchanged. Another 23 percent of Republicans said, however, that federal dollars should be decreased for those schools.

During now-stalled negotiations over what the next round of coronavirus relief could entail, GOP lawmakers have argued that schools that reopen during the coronavirus pandemic would need more funding than those that remain closed.

The new polling results come as President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos continue to push for reopening schools, even as the spread of coronavirus worsens in many regions. During a Monday briefing, Trump suggested coronavirus cases among kids make up a "tiny, tiny fraction of death" and said children "get better very quickly."

“I think it's a very important thing for the economy to get the schools going,” he said.

As Trump woos suburban voters, the new poll shows 60 percent of that electorate said they are against fully opening K-12 schools for in-person instruction this fall, with similar opposition to reopening daycares and colleges.

“Over half of suburban voters oppose the idea of reopening K-12 schools in person for the new academic year, at odds with President Trump encouraging the contrary,” said Kyle Dropp, co-founder and chief research officer at Morning Consult. “Three-quarters of suburban voters also think federal funding should be either maintained or increased for schools choosing to open virtually.”

The poll also examined student loan policies as Congress debates action to help those borrowers during the pandemic. While 85 percent of Democrats said they support allowing borrowers to defer payments — interest-free — for six months, a lesser 78 percent of independents support that plan and 75 percent of Republicans back it.

Trump on Saturday signed an executive action continuing the pause on monthly payments and interest for many federal student loan borrowers until the end of the year.

A narrower majority of voters, at 53 percent, support a plan presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has endorsed to cancel up to $10,000 in student loan debt for each borrower. The poll showed most Democrats support that plan, but independents and Republicans are split.

A group of 16 Democratic lawmakers and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sent a letter Tuesday to Senate leaders, calling for the pause on student loan payments to be extended to another 8 million borrowers who have not been granted relief during the pandemic and for the next coronavirus relief package to extend the payment freeze for the duration of the economic crisis.

Morning Consult is a global data intelligence company, delivering insights on what people think in real time by surveying tens of thousands across the globe every single day.

More details on the poll and its methodology can be found in these two documents: Toplines | Crosstabs

Juan Perez Jr. contributed to this story.

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British economy plunged record 20 percent in second quarter

LONDON — The British economy contracted by a record 20.4 percent in April, May and June as the coronavirus pandemic shut business.

This represents the largest quarterly drop on record, according to the Office for National Statistics, which released the data Wednesday. “It is clear that the UK is in the largest recession on record,” the ONS said in a statement.

The sharpest decrease during the second quarter was in April and May, with June seeing gross domestic product increase of 8.7 percent.

“The economy began to bounce back in June with shops reopening, factories beginning to ramp up production and housebuilding continuing to recover,” ONS Deputy National Statistician Jonathan Athow said in the statement.

The numbers show the hit to the economy was worse in the U.K. than countries in Continental Europe such as France and Germany, whose lockdown restrictions were eased earlier.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak acknowledged the depth of the problem and promised to continue supporting the economic recovery through tax and spending policy.

“I’ve said before that hard times were ahead, and today’s figures confirm that hard times are here. Hundreds of thousands of people have already lost their jobs, and sadly in the coming months many more will,” he said in a statement emailed to media.

The U.K. also has seen its biggest fall in employment since the global financial crisis.

Sunak urged the population to keep the faith, saying that “while there are difficult choices to be made ahead, we will get through this, and I can assure people that nobody will be left without hope or opportunity.”

Economists warn the U.K. will have a tougher job at the recovery than most developed countries.

“With many firms unable to operate as normal — and heightened uncertainty about prospects for the health crisis — the economy will take time to recover,” said James Smith, research director at the Resolution Foundation think tank. “The longer-term impact of the crisis on living standards will depend on the scale of the rise in unemployment and how long it lasts.”

Sunak is reportedly considering postponing his marquee budget statement for the fall, which was expected next month, due to fears of a second wave of infections.

This article has been updated.

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The Girl From Chicago (1932) | Oscar Micheaux | All-Black Cast
The Girl from Chicago is a 1932 American Pre-Code drama film produced and directed by Oscar Micheaux, with an all-African-American cast to include lead actor Carl Mahon. The story concerns a Federal agent who falls in love while on assignment in Mississippi. He helps his lover escape a local thug, and the film follows them to Harlem where they become involved in the assassination of a Cuban racketeer, played by Juano Hernández. Produced on a shoestring budget, this independent production featuring a largely non-professional cast, is known as one of the better-quality Micheaux productions. As is common in Micheaux's films, the story line is padded with several musical numbers, offering a glimpse of African-American musical and dancing talent of the time.

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