NOTE TO STUDENTS: We encourage you to consider the following: Base your opinion about a president’s speech by watching it rather than relying on what others say about it. Determine the tone of the speaker, the content of the speech and the accuracy of the statements made.

What is your reaction to it? THEN read/listen to what others say about it.  Is what he said true? Is what he said accurate? Do you think he is an effective leader?

1. Regarding ILLLEGAL IMMIGRATION:
a) President Trump made the following statements about illegal immigration. What is your reaction to each? (agreement, disagreement, surprise, dismay, disbelief…)

• “One of our most critical challenges is illegal immigration, which undermines prosperity, rips apart societies, and empowers ruthless criminal cartels.”
• “Mass illegal migration is unfair, unsafe, and unsustainable for everyone involved: the sending countries and the depleted countries.  And they become depleted very fast, but their youth is not taken care of and human capital goes to waste.”
• “The receiving countries are overburdened with more migrants than they can responsibly accept.”
• “And the migrants themselves are exploited, assaulted, and abused by vicious coyotes.  Nearly one third of women who make the journey north to our border are sexually assaulted along the way.”
• “Yet, here in the United States and around the world, there is a growing cottage industry of radical activists and non-governmental organizations that promote human smuggling.  These groups encourage illegal migration and demand erasure of national borders.”

b) What message did the President have for open border activists?

c) Do you agree or disagree with this?

d) What did President Trump call on the other countries that are coping with the challenges of uncontrolled migration to do?

2. Regarding VENEZUELA:
a) What did the president say about Venezuela and Cuba in his address?
b) What message did President Trump have for the Venezuelan people?

3. Regarding SOCIALISM:

a) Fill in the blanks from the president’s comments on socialism:

Socialism is “the __________ of nations and _______________ of societies. Events in Venezuela remind us all that socialism and communism are not about _______________, they are not about _______________, they are not about lifting up _______________, and they are certainly not about the good of the nation.  Socialism and communism are about one thing only: power for _______________.”

b) Ask a parent and a grandparent: do you agree with President Trump’s statement on socialism? Please explain your answer.

4. Regarding SOCIAL MEDIA:
a) Do you agree with President Trump’s statement: “A small number of social media platforms are acquiring immense power over what we can see and over what we are allowed to say”? Explain your answer.
b) Do you think your answer to a) would be different if you were liberal or conservative? Explain your answer.
c) What did President Trump say about a free society in relation to social media giants?

5. President Trump also addressed his support for the protection/freedom of: the LGBTQ community in oppressive regimes, the role of women and the W-GDP, protecting religious freedom, protecting the unborn and the Second Amendment. Why do you think he was proclaiming his support for these groups in his address to the UN General Assembly?

6. Overall, what did you think of President Trump’s address to the UN General Assembly? What was his tone? What was his overall message?