Fox anchor diminishes the agency of students participating in climate strikes

Julie Banderas: “When I hear kids partaking in protests, I just think, OK, whose idea was that?”

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Citation From the September 20 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom

JULIE BANDERAS (GUEST CO-ANCHOR):  All right, thousands of kids across the country will be walking out of school today to demand action on climate change. Let's bring back our A-team -- Juan Williams, Ed Henry, and Jenna Ellis Rives. All right Jenna, I'll start with you. When I hear kids partaking in protests, I just think, OK, whose idea was that, whose idea was this?

JENNA ELLIS RIVES (TRUMP 2020 ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER): Right. And obviously, I think that kids can have their own opinions. I mean, my little brother has been very politically active and, you know, has been a consumer of the news since he was probably 12. And so, you know, we can't say that kids are always just informed by adults, but I think it's a valid question to say, whose idea was this, and on school time, right? Because this is also something that if you're going to make a, you know, political move here, is this something that is being led by the school administration? Is it compelled, is it something -- you know, all these questions are very important. And especially when we're talking about something like climate change. I mean, this is something that, you know, if you look at the Democratic left and you look at everyone on stage, they had a seven-hour debate over this. I mean, who even watched that?

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ED HENRY (FOX NEWS CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT): Look, my daughter is 15, and to your point about your family, I mean, she is very serious on climate change. She's been talking to me about it, she's following it. I think it's awesome. I think that young people being not just active, but engaged, caring about these big issues, in all [seriousness], we like to joke around here, I think that's great, and we shouldn't dismiss it. But I think when they start walking out of class over it, just like they did that -- I saw the same at my daughter's school, I think it was last year, about gun control. Again, I think it's very important, it's great for kids -- young people really, not kids anymore -- young adults to be active on these issues, to be educated about them, know the actual facts. But to just say, hey, you can be politically active, you don't have to go to class -- I mean, they should be in school doing what they're doing to learn, right? And I think it's great they're learning about all these things. But just this whole activism --