Trump and Linda McMahon lie about trans kids — in front of schoolchildren

President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon used a White House back-to-school celebration Monday to spread lies about transgender children and education in front of students. Trump then inexplicably invited attendees to tour the construction of his helipad and ballroom, returning to his White House construction obsession.Schoolchildren made up half of the Rose Garden audience, according to the press pool report. The U.S. Army’s rock band performed, and students from St. Francis Xavier Catholic Academy led the Pledge of Allegiance. Attendees included Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and House Education Chairman Tim Walberg.Only still photographers — not reporters or video cameras — were allowed to follow Trump on the construction tour.Related: Trump’s education secretary claims schools are secretly transitioning children. They aren’tLies about transgender studentsTrump called Biden-era education policy “weaponized” and falsely claimed “transgender insanity” had been forced on children as young as 4. He described watching an unnamed Democratic member of Congress defend transgender athletes on television and said he hoped Democrats continued.“Every public school in America is now on notice that if they tell a child that they’re trapped in the wrong body, they are committing child abuse,” Trump said.That’s not true. No Biden policy forced children to identify as transgender, and Trump cited no law making affirmation abuse—the targeted policies concern names, pronouns and privacy — not medical treatment.Related: Maryland school district caves to Trump and adopts forced outing policy to expose LGBTQ+ studentsMcMahon repeated the lie that schools secretly transition children and threatened their federal funding over supposed “radical experiments.”“After the Biden administration allowed schools to secretly transition students without parents’ knowledge, President Trump is defending parental