In a time where the country is divided about several different topics including racism, police brutality, and the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump is calling for the country’s youth to be educated more patriotically.
His call for patriotic education comes after months of protests around the country, some of which have turned violent.
President Trump believes that America is worth defending and protecting, calling our country an “exceptional, free and just nation.”
In a news briefing at the White House on Monday (August 31), the president said, “The only path to unity is to rebuild a shared national identity focused on common American values and virtues of which we have plenty. This includes restoring patriotic education in our nation’s schools, where they are trying to change everything that we have learned.”
This quote was piggybacking on parts of his speech at the Republican National Convention, where he said we should take a “new pride in our history…Americans build their future, we don’t tear down our past.”
At the briefing, he defended his comments by saying, “The left’s war on police, faith, history, and American values is tearing our country apart, which is what they want.”
Watch the full press conference below.