President Trump announced Thursday that he will continue to fund the Special Olympics. Saying that he was overriding “my people,” Trump told reporters outside his Marine One helicopter that he would make sure the “incredible,” widely cherished organization will be funded.
“The Special Olympics will be funded. I just told my people, I want to fund the Special Olympics … I’ve been to the Special Olympics. I think it’s incredible. And I just authorized a funding … I have overridden my people. We’re funding the Special Olympics,” Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday.
Incredibly, committed Trump haters found something to criticize in Trump’s decision.
Trump to fund Special Olympics
For days, Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos sustained withering criticism over the proposed cuts. The education budget for 2020 would have cut $17.6 million for the Special Olympics, roughly 10 percent of the organization’s revenue. Past administrations have funded the Special Olympics.
“The Special Olympics will be funded. I just told my people, I want to fund the Special Olympics. And I just authorized a funding of the Special Olympics. I’ve been to the Special Olympics. I think it’s incredible. And I just authorized a funding. I heard about it this morning. I have overridden my people. We’re funding the Special Olympics,” Trump said as he was on his way to a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The Trump administration made the proposal in its budget, which Trump sent to Congress this month. The budget has been widely criticized by liberals as callous for suggesting deep cuts to welfare spending as well as the Environmental Protection Agency. The budget includes big spending increases for the military and infrastructure.
The cuts were rejected by a bi-partisan consensus of lawmakers in the latest thumbs-down to Trump’s budget. The budget, which is just a proposal, is considered by many to be dead-on-arrival for its heavy cuts to social services and other popular programs.
DeVos, who was under pressure to cut spending in her budget as part of the wider push, defended the cuts in tense hearings with House and Senate Democrats this week. In a testy exchange with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), DeVos said the senator was pulling a “shameful” trick by using “disabled children in a twisted way for your political narrative,” prompting Durbin to say the proposed cut “is shameful, too.”
The secretary justified the cuts by saying that she personally donated to the organization and that it would be better funded by charity. She donated $50,000 to the Special Olympics last year. After Trump’s reversal, DeVos thanked Trump and said they see “eye to eye” on the program, which she said she has “fought for behind the scenes over the last several years.”
Trump criticized for doing good thing
Trump was criticized by some just for allowing the cuts to make it past the drawing board in the first place. A common criticism was that Trump appeared to jeopardize the Special Olympics, then swoop in to save it and take credit.
But some Trump supporters will surely see evidence of sour grapes on display among those booing Trump’s decision. Liberals disappointed by Robert Mueller’s finding of no collusion continue to accuse the president of having conspired with the Russians to steal the election despite his exoneration. Indeed, it seems that despite Mueller’s investigation finally being over, there is nothing Trump can really do to satisfy the committed haters; his real crime is just being Trump.
Misinformation seems to have contributed to the outrage, as Special Olympics Chairman Tim Shriver clarified that the athletic events that are traditionally associated with Special Olympics are not supported by the federal government, but rely mostly on philanthropy, the core of DeVos’s rationale. However, the federal government contracts with the Special Olympics to provide educational services in schools for disabled children.
“But let me be clear. The traditional Special Olympics program funded by philanthropy operates around the country for over half a million athletes every year provides thousands of events, hundreds of coaching and training opportunities every day around the country and has over 50 years been built on the backs of volunteers and philanthropists. This is not the work being funded by the United States Department of Education. On the contrary, the United States Department of Education, in partnership with state Departments of Education and local education authorities, have contracted with Special Olympics to provide critical educational services in schools, supporting the development of children with special needs, supporting the learning about their peers, and supporting the teaching of critical, social and emotional skills such as grit, perseverance and inclusion,” Shriver said.
DeVos, who is a school choice and charter school advocate, is also widely despised by the Left and she was criticized as callous for proposing the Special Olympics cuts. The Special Olympics thanked Trump in a statement.
“We express our gratitude to President Trump for reauthorizing funding for Special Olympics school-based programming. He joins a long history of over 50 years of United States presidents and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle in their support of Special Olympics and the work we do in communities throughout the country,” the group said. “This is a nonpartisan issue and we are proud of our work to create inclusion in schools and among young people.”
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