When it comes to politics, most adults have pretty strong opinions. A lot of people either love our president and think he is doing a great job or hate him and think he is ruining the country. Few people ever stop to ask kids what they think about the president, though.
Jimmy Kimmel loves to hear what kids have to say, and he wanted to know their political opinions, as well.
He recently asked several what they think of the president, and the answers he got are shocking. According to Kimmel:
“Trump’s approval ratings, according to the polls that were released today, is at 37 percent, which isn’t great. But that was a poll of adults. I wanted to see what kids thought of his first year in office.”
He sent the correspondents out on the streets to interview children of all ages.
They asked simple questions that were easy for the kids to answer on their own. Some kids gave very detailed comments with explanations, and others simply said exactly what they were thinking at the time.
Some of the questions and answers include:
“What’s the first thing you think of when I say Donald Trump?”
A little boy answered: “Small fingers.”
Another correspondent asked, “Donald Trump has a lot of nicknames for people like ‘Crooked Hillary’ or ‘Rocket Man.’ Do you have a nickname for him?”
A little girl replied: “Poop face.”
But other kids had more thoughtful and prepared answers, which suggest they pay more attention to things than most adults realize.
When asked if Trump was doing a good job as president, one boy said:
“He wants to put a wall over Mexico, And I, like, love going to Mexico.”
Another child talked about something that was troubling him:
“I think he needs to stop threatening North Korea. I don’t want to get nuked.”
While most parents don’t actively discuss politics with their young children, they do discuss them with other adults while their kids are listening.
Many of these kids have opinions that are formed by listening to their parents, others seemed to have real worries and concerns. Many people believe that Trump isn’t a good role model for children and think that he needs to be more aware that children are watching him and hearing about his behavior.
On the night of the 2016 election, CNN’s Van Jones said:
“It’s hard to be a parent tonight for a lot of us. You tell your kids don’t be a bully. You tell your kids don’t be a bigot. You tell your kids do your homework and be prepared. And then you have this outcome.”
Although a lot of Trump supporters think that kids’ opinion of the president isn’t significant, others believe that they are very important.
Kids look to adult leaders to learn how to act, and to them, a president is the epitome of what an adult should be like. When a correspondent asked a child if she thought Trump was smart, she said:
“No. He treats people badly, and that’s why I don’t think he’s smart.”
If little kids can figure out that it’s not OK to treat people badly, why can’t adults in positions of power figure it out?
One day, these kids will be voting for a new president, and they will remember how this presidency went. He could be shaping the minds and political opinions for the future and not even realize it.
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