Biden Blames Trump for Empty Schools. Ted Cruz Serves Up a Harsh Reminder.

Continuing the week’s theme of blaming President Donald Trump for things that are unquestionably the fault of the left, Joe Biden said that the president is responsible for empty classrooms across the nation as a result of mishandling the coronavirus pandemic.

“Right now, classrooms should be humming with excitement for a new year and students’ hopes for their futures. Instead, many are silent and empty because President Trump didn’t do his job. America’s families are paying the price for his failures,” Biden tweeted.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) didn’t waste a moment before giving Biden a harsh reminder of the truth: “Pssst….Joe……you’re the one saying shut them all down!”

This is, of course, perfectly true. This summer, Biden released a video sharply disagreeing with President Trump’s plan to reopen schools across the nation.

“Forcing educators and students back into a classroom in areas where the infection rate is going up or remaining very high is just plain dangerous,” he said at the time. “The decision about when to reopen safely should be made by state, tribal and local officials, based on science and in consultation with communities and tribal governments. It should be made with the safety of students and educators in mind.”

Okay, we can sorta get on board with that: Local decisions should be made by local leaders? Of course. That’s why we’re not bothered by officials in Miami-Dade coming to different conclusions than those in Buford, Georgia. This is the kind of precision, pinpointed response we need to adopt when it comes to this pandemic.

But Biden then went on to say: “The Trump administration’s chaotic and politicized response has left school districts to improvise a thousand hard decisions on their own. Schools need clear, consistent, effective national guidelines, not mixed messages and political ultimatums.”

So…this sounds like exactly the opposite of what he was saying before. How can you “leave it to – ahem – tribal governments” on the one hand and demand “effective national guidelines” on the other?

Or was this always just an excuse to throw rocks at the Trump administration and never really about making sure our schools were safe?

You don’t really need to answer that question.