Trump sketches out $20B school voucher plan
Donald Trump introduced a $20 billion school voucher plan at a charter school in Cleveland on Thursday, hoping to make inroads with the suburban women he needs to catch up with Hillary Clinton.
Though the speech was dedicated to education, Trump began his remarks by spending several minutes lambasting Clinton's foreign policy experience and renewing his false claim that he opposed the war in Iraq before it began.
“The media is so terribly dishonest,” Trump said, criticizing reporters who called him out for repeating the claim that he opposed the war Wednesday during a forum in New York.
Trump insisted that he would have voted against the war if he had not been a private citizen and blamed Clinton's policies for unleashing the Islamic State.
Trump again called Clinton, who voted for the war as a senator, “trigger-happy,” and he called Iraq “one of the biggest differences in this race.”
Trump's scant public comments before the war began, made to Howard Stern, indicate that he supported the war.
Thursday, Trump said he would have voted against the war if he had been serving in Congress at the time. He argued: “I opposed going in. And I opposed the reckless way Hillary Clinton took us out.”
The Trump education plan would use a block grant — sent to states — to support 11 million poor children.
It would encourage states, which largely control education policy and funding, to allow students to enroll in private, charter, magnet or public schools.
The brief plan, outlined in a 232-word news release, says the money would come from redirecting existing education dollars, but did not specify which programs would need to be cut.
Clinton is supported heavily by teachers unions, which oppose such programs, arguing that they weaken the public education system.
Trump endorsed merit pay for teachers, another policy often opposed by unions that support seniority-based pay structures.
The issues could have resonance among parents, given that education often ranks as a top concern.
“This is the new civil rights agenda of our time,” Trump said.
“I will use the pulpit of the presidency to campaign for this in all 50 states,” Trump said, pledging to support politicians in state and local races who favor school choice.
Trump cited Cleveland's voucher program as a model, though a recent study found that the 20,000 students who receive the vouchers performed worse on standardized tests than their public school peers.
Meanwhile, Clinton blasted Trump for his condemnation of American military generals and his praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying her Republican opponent had “failed” at proving he can be commander in chief.
“Every Republican holding or seeking office in this country should be asked if they agree with Donald Trump about these statements,” Clinton said in a news conference the morning after both candidates appeared at a national security forum.
