Is the 'Trump effect' making kids mean? Hillary Clinton has a $500 million plan to fix it.


At the second presidential debate, Hillary Clinton introduced the idea of a "Trump effect," in which Donald Trump's presence on the national stage has influenced the behavior of school children for the worse. "Bullying is up," she said, referencing anecdotal evidence from teachers and parents. "A lot of people are feeling uneasy, a lot of kids are expressing their concerns."
Now Clinton has proposed a $500 million anti-bullying initiative to fund a 10-year program in American schools. She described the plan Thursday as a "major new effort to help states and communities and schools and families end bullying wherever it takes place," again making the point that "teachers have reported that this election has made it worse."
The trouble is there's no hard evidence the "Trump effect" exists. Supporters of Clinton's initiative are citing a Southern Poverty Law Center survey of teachers that found Trump is generating "an alarming level of fear and anxiety among children of color," but the survey wasn't scientific: It was a poll of teachers already on SPLC's email list and its website visitors, hardly a representative sample of America's educators.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, about 3,000 therapists have signed a "manifesto" claiming Trump has engendered anxiety among their patients, and one national poll found 43 percent of voters said Trump has caused them emotional distress. As for bullying rates specifically, scientifically sound data for 2016 won't be available from the National Center for Education Statistics until 2018.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
‘An exercise of the Republicans justifying their racist positions’
instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in Venezuela
Speed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
Is this the end of ultraprocessed foods?
Today's Big Question California law, MAHA movement on the same track
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in Venezuela
Speed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young Republicans
Speed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats
-
Trump ties $20B Argentina bailout to Milei votes
speed read Trump will boost Argentina’s economy — if the country’s right-wing president wins upcoming elections
-
News organizations reject Pentagon restrictions
Speed Read The proposed policy is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest move to limit press access at the Pentagon
-
Trump declares end to Gaza war, ‘dawn’ of new Mideast
Speed Read Hamas freed the final 20 living Israeli hostages and Israel released thousands of Palestinian detainees
-
Trump DOJ indicts New York AG Letitia James
Speed Read New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted as Trump’s Justice Department pursues charges against his political opponents
-
Judge blocks Trump’s Guard deployment in Chicago
Speed Read The president is temporarily blocked from federalizing the Illinois National Guard or deploying any Guard units in the state
-
Trump urges jail for Illinois, Chicago leaders
Speed Read The Texas National Guard begin operations in the Chicago area