My friend went on to tell me, “I wish Trump and Devos had kept their mouths shut, at this point. They just made it worse.” She misunderstands, however, why Trump has come out so forcefully in favor of school reopenings, and it’s not about what’s best for the children necessarily or exclusively. He may have made the conversation about school reopenings worse, but that’s assuming his goal in speaking out was reopening schools.

The president understands which sector of the electorate holds the Holy Grail to his reelection: suburban white women. And do you know what suburban women want? They want their children in school and learning. They don’t want them sitting in front of a computer screen, pretending to learn on Zoom. Suburban mothers don’t want to be forced to make the choice between their jobs and financial stability and their children’s education.

The president and his staff understand that’s the decision being put in front of millions of families: Mothers will have to quit and watch their children, overseeing their online learning or leaving them to their own devices (literally) with the understanding that they will slip even further behind academically. Or they could go it alone and start homeschooling.