Here’s what elementary school students look for in a president

By Jon Bodell - Nov 1, 2016 | 0 comments

Henry Elliott, third grade. Question 1: Being safe, making the country safe and keeping it safe. Question 2: Making fun of other people. Question 3: Making it as safe as I can for the whole U.S.

Ben Ryder, third grade. Question 1: You have to be very caring, strong, stand-up – you just have to be a good person. Question 2: I would not like someone to make a wall where our friends live. Question 3: I would lower taxes, make everyone equal and treat everyone equally.

Finnley Krutsinger, fifth grade. Question 1: A president has to have grit and perseverance. Question 2: Someone not trying to make America as great as it can be. Question 3: I would try to get more well-paying jobs for Americans.

Nick Reynolds, fifth grade. Question 1: Caring about all of the citizens. Question 2: Making fun of somebody who has disabilities. Question 3: Let women have equal pay, lower taxes.

Quinn Sullivan, fourth grade. Question 1: They should have the experience so they’re qualified. Question 2: I don’t want someone who’s going to make fun of everyone and say mean things to people. Question 3: Lower taxes for the lower and middle class and make sure every student gets affordable college.

Chloe Gudas, fifth grade. Question 1: Someone who has a lot of stamina, standing up for what he or she believes in. Question 2: I’d never vote for a president who doesn’t respect other people’s differences. Question 3: I would raise the minimum wage and make sure women are treated as well as men.

Maddie Short, third grade. Question 1: Someone who can make rules in the U.S. Question 2: Making fun of Hillary Clinton. Question 3: To keep the U.S. safe.

Brennan Schmidt, kindergarten. Question 1: To keep the U.S. safe. Question 2: Make a wall. Question 3: Defend Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.

Sofia Sargent, kindergarten. Question 1: Saving the state of New Hampshire. Question 2: Make a wall out of bricks. Question 3: Make the world a better place.

Faith Parisi, second grade. Question 1: Be nice. Question 2: Building a wall. Question 3: Make America great again.

Emma Pelletier, third grade. Question 1: Be positive, kind to everybody and helpful. Question 2: They shouldn’t be unhelpful and not so kind. Question 3: I would give people better taxes and give more money to people that work.

In today’s ultra-divisive, super-partisan political climate, it can be downright exhausting just trying to watch the news at night – you can’t even go a few minutes these days without being inundated with political ads, phone call surveys or pundits telling you what to do.

In times like these, we like to step back and try to simplify things as much as possible. And what better way to cut to the root of the issues than by talking to some youngsters who (hopefully) haven’t been jaded and corrupted yet by the corporate world, taxes and government red tape.

Since we have a strict no-politics policy at the Insider, we had to connect with a bunch of people who can’t even legally vote for about another decade – or more, in some cases. This way we can’t really be called out for getting too political – these kids aren’t even allowed to participate in our democratic process (and what a shame, based on some of the answers).

We went to Christa McAuliffe School last week to talk to students from many grade levels to get their perspectives on the upcoming election. From kindergarten right up through fifth grade, we got a good sampling of the youth outlook for 2016.

We asked each of the students the same three questions:

What’s the most important quality someone running for president should have?

What’s your deal-breaker – if someone did, said or thought this, you could never vote for them?

If you were elected president, what would be your top priority in office?

Get a load of the answers!