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Election 2020
Jiwon Choi and Darian Leddy

Minnesota kids answer: What would you do if you were president of the U.S.?

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While they may not be able to vote yet, the next generation of leaders in Minnesota has a say in what’s going on today and what they hope for America’s future. 

So we asked children from across the state: If you were president of the United States, what would you do?

From reforming the criminal justice system to painting the White House pink, here are some of the presidential plans Minnesota’s future leaders shared with us:

If I was president, first I would make sure that no one would just be killed for a thought of a crime because lots of Black people are being killed just because people think they’ve done a crime, like George Floyd.

The second thing I would do if I was president is I would make sure that there was no bad cops at all.

— Caroline, third grader from Roseville

I would see if I could give more money to the medicals so they can solve move [COVID-19] cases and give more treatments.

— Patience, sixth grader from Duluth

I would let homeless people have more homes because every time when [homeless] people just are sitting on sidewalks with their signs, people always drive by and do nothing. … [I would also] put a trampoline there [at the White House.] I would probably put a bunch of fake spider webs and stuff.

— Myles, third grader from Duluth

I would give more housing to the homeless and more food to them. … And [I would be] shutting a lot of stuff down, [like a] trampoline park so I can go there myself.

— Joseph, sixth grader from Duluth

I would plant more trees and protect the earth and its flora and fauna. … One of the specific examples would be something like the Amazon because it’s being chopped down from deforestation and cattle-ranching.

— Sydney, third grader from Lino Lakes

First grader Marley says she “maybe” paint the White House “pink” and get a “puppy!”

— Marley, first grader from St. Paul

Homeless people get a tiny house, [with things to help them live.]

— Nahla, second grader from St. Paul

[I would] stop sending people off to have wars. I would have two people who run the entire country just fight square on and whoever wins would win whatever they were arguing about.

— Ahmed, seventh grader from Columbia Heights

I would help the environment [and] buy more land for more trees because if we didn’t have trees then there wouldn’t be a way to breathe.

— Asha, third grader from Columbia Heights

“I would call other presidents that have been there in the past and I would ask them what they would do. I’m pretty sure [they would say something] like ‘make Black lives better.’”

— Eliot, fifth grader from Bemidji