What do you know about the US political system? Brainstorm as many facts as you can in note form.

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1 1 Warmer What do you know about the US political system? Brainstorm as many facts as you can in note form. 2 Key words Find the key words in the article and write them next to the definitions below. The paragraph numbers are given to help you. 1. not proud and not thinking that you are better than other people (para 1) 2. the ordinary people in a community, country, society or organization rather than its leaders (para 2) 3. be very successful (para 2) 4. words, and a way of speaking, that are intended to impress people (para 3) 5. physically attacked (two words, para 6) 6. make someone or something look stupid by laughing at them, copying them or saying something that is not kind (para 6) 7. an insulting word for someone who you think is very unpleasant (para 7) 8. say that something that you previously said or wrote is not true (para 7) 9. affecting or including everything, and therefore very important (para 9) 10. embarrassing mistakes that you make in public, especially those that offend or upset someone (para 10) 11. sending someone out of a country, usually because they do not have a legal right to be there (para 12) 12. used to say that a number is inaccurate (para 13) 13. understand and express something such as people s beliefs or attitudes (two words, para 14) 14. behaviour that is considered to be deliberately stupid and likely to cause problems (para 16) NEWS LESSONS / / Advanced

2 After the gaffes and flip-flops, Republicans ask: who can stop Trump? Donald Trump s Republican base remains strong and his opponents are finding it hard to blunt his popularity Dan Roberts and Ben Jacobs in Washington 29 November, Striding on stage, Donald Trump had a surprisingly humble confession to make for someone defying all the laws of political gravity. 2 Unless we win, it doesn t mean a damn thing, the would-be Republican presidential nominee warned a campaign rally in South Carolina, despite finishing his fourth month in a row at the top of the opinion polls. I want to pick my date for the election. I want it next Tuesday, he confided to the 11,000-strong crowd typical of the grassroots support that needs to flourish into March 2016 for him to win the nomination, let alone November s general election. 3 Such moments of self-doubt are fleeting, quickly replaced by the now-familiar bombast of a billionaire whose status as a winner has become his defining policy platform. 4 Trump is not the only one beginning to wonder whether his improbable campaign can confound the pundits and go the distance, particularly after a burst of recent controversy only seemed to cement his polling lead over bewildered rivals. Conventional wisdom holds that any one of these outbursts would have sunk most politicians by now. 5 First, there was the time he outraged prisoners of war by doubting the heroism of Vietnam veteran John McCain because he allowed himself to be captured. Then, there was the first television debate, where he insulted Fox News moderator, Megyn Kelly, because she asked him difficult questions. 6 As if PoWs, Fox News and women were not enemies enough, Trump has also insulted Mexican immigrants to the US, claimed that a Black Lives Matter protester who was violently ejected from a rally deserved to be roughed up, appeared to mock a New York Times journalist for his disability and falsely accused Muslim Americans of cheering on the 9/11 attackers. 7 Trump has complained that many of these incidents were exaggerated by the political media, 70% of whom, he says, are scum. But, he has nonetheless refused to retract any of the comments. I could NEWS LESSONS / / Advanced have said, Oh, I misspoke, but I am not big on that, Trump told the crowd in South Carolina. 8 Some rivals still hope that, eventually, even Trump s supporters will tire of what critics view as his relentless attacks on minorities in particular. One poll shows his support among Republicans down by 12 points although, at 31%, he still leads the field. 9 Other opponents question whether there is much overarching political ideology to Trump. He is an egomaniac; he s a narcissist. He s not a conservative, he s not a liberal he believes in himself, former presidential rival, Bobby Jindal, told the Guardian, shortly before dropping out of the race. 10 Liz Mair, a Republican strategist organizing an anti- Trump fundraising committee, worries that many of the comments seen as gaffes by the liberal media are, in fact, carefully designed to boost his standing with his core constituency. I personally think it s best that people who don t like Trump and his policies do some work to try to actively undercut him, she says. And not just pray for him to commit real political suicide. 11 Yet, there is more to Trump than attention-grabbing outrage. As he delights in telling supporters, the three issues that he rails against most immigration reform, free-trade deals and Barack Obama s national security policy have become perhaps the defining issues of the election. 12 His policies for deporting every undocumented immigrant in the US and demanding that Mexico pays for a border wall A real wall. A very tall wall, taller than that ceiling. might sound unrealistic but they have arguably destroyed the campaign hopes of Jeb Bush, who favours immigration reform. 13 So what might it take to stop Trump? One source of optimism among opponents is the strong evidence that polls this far away from election day are an average of eight percentage points out, simply because most people have not made up their minds. Among Americans who identify as Republicans, current polls suggest he has 25-30% of the vote. 14 In the battle for hearts and minds, converting Trump s passionate supporters will be hard. To blunt his lead, another candidate would need to tap into his support base without jeopardizing their own. Polling experts believe this to be unlikely, as it is hard to imagine anyone doing Trump better than Trump, let alone anyone doing Trump without sacrificing their own support. 15 This scenario can be best understood by looking at

3 responses to the question: Are there any of these candidates you would definitely not support for the Republican nomination for president? While 20-30% of voters say they would support Trump, another 20-30% say they definitely would not. 16 Steve Deace, a prominent Iowa conservative, said that Trump s antics are both a good and a bad thing. On one hand, it produces a loyal following that is attracted to that persona which will not leave you. On the other hand, it limits your ability to grow beyond that. 17 Top Republican pollster, Frank Luntz, believes Trump speaks for voters who, for the first time, feel as if they have a mouthpiece and like the fact that they feel like they are being heard. As the pollster notes: Trump says what they re thinking and, the more outrageous he is, the more they agree with him. He s saying what no politician would say and that s another reason they like him. 18 That is certainly the feeling among ordinary supporters who have attended his increasingly packed campaign events in recent months. 19 I like the way he speaks, says Sandra Murray of Dubuque, Iowa. This country is a huge mess and we need to get out of this and, honestly, he could be the man to do it. 20 Other supporters offer a simpler explanation. He s not afraid of anybody or anything. That s pretty cool. Guardian News and Media 2015 First published in The Observer, 29/11/15 3 Comprehension check Answer the questions in much detail as you can if possible, without referring back to the article. 1. Which political position does Donald Trump want to have? 2. Which political party is he a member of? 3. Who has he publically mocked and insulted? 4. What three current political issues is he against? 5. Why is Trump so popular with a certain percentage of voters? 4 Descriptive words and expressions What words and expressions are used in the article to describe Trump? What impression does this give you of the man? What do you think the writers of the article think about Trump? NEWS LESSONS / / Advanced

4 5 Expressions a. Match the words to make expressions from the article. Find each one in the article to see how it is used and, in your own words, explain what each expression means. 1. defy the laws of (political) 2. let 3. confound the 4. go the 5. conventional 6. political 7. core 8. blunt his a. ideology b. distance c. constituency d. lead e. gravity f. alone g. wisdom h. pundits b. Choose four of the expressions that you would like to be able to use more confidently and write a sentence for each. 6 Discussion What is the role of an American president nationally and internationally? What tasks does he/she carry out? How much power does he/she have? Compare this to the role of presidents or heads of state in other countries that you know well. 7 Webquest Find out more about the presidential and political system in the US. How is a president elected? What is the election period for a president? How long is a president allowed to remain in office? Who is the president answerable to? NEWS LESSONS / / Advanced

5 KEY 2 Key words 1. humble 2. grassroots 3. flourish 4. bombast 5. roughed up 6. mock 7. scum 8. retract 9. overarching 10. gaffes 11. deporting 12. out 13. tap into 14. antics 3 Comprehension check 5 Expressions 1. e do something in a way that is different from what usually happens or what people expect 2. f used for saying that something is even less likely to happen than another unlikely thing 3. h confuse or surprise the experts in a subject 4. b compete in a race or game until the end, continuing to try to win 5. g beliefs or opinions that most people accept as correct 6. a a system of ideas and principles on which a political theory is based 7. c a central and important group of people with similar attitudes or interests who are likely to support a particular idea or politician 8. d reduce the amount by which he is in front 1. president of the United States of America 2. the Republicans 3. prisoners of war, Fox News, women, Mexican immigrants, a Black Lives Matter protester, a disabled man, Muslim Americans 4. immigration reform, free-trade deals, Obama s national security policy 5. They feel like he says the things that they are thinking and that he dares to say things that no other politician would dare to say. They think that he s the man to save the US and they like that he s not afraid of anybody or anything. 4 Descriptive words and expressions would-be Republican presidential nominee billionaire winner egomaniac narcissist not a conservative; not a liberal outrageous mouthpiece NEWS LESSONS / / Advanced

Atlantische Onderwijsconferentie Republicans Abroad Netherlands 9 maart 2016

Atlantische Onderwijsconferentie Republicans Abroad Netherlands 9 maart 2016 Renee Nielsen The presidential candidates of the Republican Party and the battle for nomination Table of contents Introduction