Donald Trump just spent a week showing us how much he despises children

It’s been well documented over the years that Donald Trump does not like children. He pitted his children against each other when they were growing up, he kicked a crying baby out of one of his rallies, and he seemed less than pleased that Elon Musk’s son was romping about in the Oval Office in February.

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When I was in first grade, we did a play about an old man who didn’t like kids. I can’t remember the name of the play, or anything else about it, except the lyrics to a song that we sang that went like this: “I don’t like kids. I don’t like kids. I never will, and I never did. I get so mad. I flip my lid. I don’t like kids.”

It’s been going through my head this past week because Trump has recently taken a series of actions that have raised serious concerns about his administration's commitment to the well-being of children in the United States, particularly those in marginalized communities. And more viscerally, how much Trump dislikes children.

He signed one of his famous and revolting executive orders mandating more discipline in schools. Then he deported three children, all American citizens, to Honduras, including one child with cancer. Pushing this hate even further, the Trump administration is planning to cut funding for a queer youth suicide prevention hotline.

We are also getting an early glimpse of the How the Grinch Stole Christmas, this time starring Donald Trump. His harsh tariffs against China have toy manufacturers warning that store shelves could be empty in December.

And how does the billionaire, child detester respond to this traumatizing news for kids? “You know, somebody said, ‘Oh, the shelves are going to be open. Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls. So maybe the two dolls will cost a couple bucks more than they would normally.”

Even the Grinch wouldn’t say something as tone-deaf as that!

If children could be polled, and more urgently, if they could vote, there’s no doubt Trump’s approval rating would be minuscule and he’d never have been elected president. By now, children would have put him in a corner with tape over his mouth (this happened to me quite frequently when I was in grade school).

Last week, the Trump administration deported three U.S.-born children to Honduras along with their undocumented mothers. Among them was a 4-year-old boy suffering from Stage 4 cancer, who was removed from the U.S. without access to his medication or communication with his doctor.

The deportations occurred in the early morning before courts opened, preventing any legal challenges. Legal representatives argue there was no proper consent or due process, and a federal judge has scheduled a hearing to investigate the legality of the deportations.

“Deporting U.S. citizen children is illegal, unconstitutional, and immoral. The speed, brutality, and clandestine manner in which these children were deported is beyond unconscionable, and every official responsible for it should be held accountable.” said Erin Hebert, senior associate at Ware Immigration, who is working with the American Civil Liberties Union on the case.

Next, Trump recently signed an executive order targeting school discipline policies. Educators and civil rights advocates argue that eliminating federal oversight of racial disparities in school discipline, which is what the EO essentially did, could exacerbate existing inequities, particularly affecting students of color.

They contend that such measures may lead to inconsistent disciplinary practices across districts, undermining efforts to ensure fair treatment for all students. Furthermore, critics emphasize that the focus on punishment fails to address the root causes of behavioral issues, such as inadequate support services and systemic inequalities.

“It’s just about attacking DEI. It’s very short-sighted. And frankly, it’s going to disproportionately impact kids that are in low-income schools, that don’t have resources, children of color that are always disproportionately impacted by disciplinary processes,” Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, told The Hill.

She also expressed concern over federal overreach into local education matters, stating that the federal government has no place in classrooms on this issue.

Further, the Trump administration has proposed eliminating federal funding for the LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services within the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline starting in October. This program has provided critical support to over 1.2 million LGBTQ+ individuals in crisis.

Advocates warn that cutting this funding could have catastrophic consequences, particularly for LGBTQ+ youth who are already at higher risk for suicide. “Suicide prevention is about risk, not identity. Ending the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ youth specialized services will not just strip away access from millions of LGBTQ+ kids and teens – it will put their lives at risk,” Jaymes Black, CEO of the Trevor Project, said in a statement. “These programs were implemented to address a proven, unprecedented, and ongoing mental health crisis among our nation’s young people with strong bipartisan support in Congress and signed into law by President Trump himself.”

And guess what? He just piled on queer kids even more. On Thursday, the Trump administration intensified its attacks on transgender youth by releasing a so-called report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The document promotes conversion therapy and seeks to undermine gender-affirming care — a move that advocates and medical experts have condemned as being rife with misinformation.

You can blame Trump voters for ignoring the warnings about how Trump would attack our community, and the lethal consequences of his actions.

On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order to cut federal funding for PBS that could significantly impact children's programming, particularly for low-income families. While Sesame Street is produced by HBO and doesn't rely directly on public funds, its free broadcast on PBS ensures accessibility for families without cable or streaming services.

PBS CEO Paula Kerger emphasized that public broadcasting offers essential services, including educational content for children, at a minimal cost to taxpayers, and that these cuts could undermine public media's role in early childhood education and community engagement.

Finally, Trump's ongoing trade war with China has led to significant disruptions in the supply chain, causing concerns among retailers about potential toy shortages during the holiday season. Ocean container bookings from China to the U.S. have plummeted by 60 percent, and shipping companies have canceled 25 percent of their sailings. Businesses are delaying investments and expansion, anticipating shortages in goods such as toys, furniture, and baby products as inventories dwindle.

“We have a frozen supply chain that is putting Christmas at risk,” Greg Ahearn, president and CEO of Toy Association, told The New York Times. “If we don’t start production soon, there’s a high probability of a toy shortage this holiday season.”

While Trump might remind me of my first grade song, these recent actions raise serious questions about the administration’s commitment to the health, education, and overall well-being of children in the United States, particularly those from marginalized communities.

Who’s to say that the administration won’t deport more children who were born in the United States to migrant parents? The constitution is clear on this matter. If you are born in this country, you are a citizen.

And defunding a life-saving youth suicide initiative, and endorsing conversion therapy and denying gender-affirming care goes beyond the pale. The consequences of this action will be profound. Not could be, but will be, because queer teen youth are already feeling the pain and trepidation of Trump as president.

If it were up to Trump, I’m sure he’d see to it that Black and brown children would not only be spanked, but imprisoned for misbehaving. Plus he wants to cut them off from Sesame Street.

Finally, when your actions make it less likely that kids get their favorite toys for the holidays, you’re just plain cruel. I’m sure the Trump grandchildren are immune to this disruption, since wealth always finds a way to get kids what they want. In other words, they not only get 30 toys, but two very expensive ones as well.

Again, it will be marginalized poor and lower-middle class children who will be affected by these tariffs, and they can blame the Grinch that is Trump. And, if i can paraphrase the lyrics to another song from my childhood, “You're a mean one, Mr. Trump. You really are a heel. You're as cuddly as a cactus. You're as charming as an eel, Mr. Trump.”

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