Go Back to Your Country

 
 
 

Vocabulary

climb	tweet (2)	climb down
seem	equitable	stand/stood/stood
ruffle	complain	controversial
doubt	congress	appear (2)
refer	colleague	outspoken
squad	attempt	repentant
bigot	single out	mince their words
urge	house (3)	quartet (2)
lawless	impeach	take action
duly	endorse	launch (2)
elect	contain	people of color
mince	occupant	marginalize
just (2)	commit	stand firm
repent	borough	disgusting
claim	reference	progressive (2)
blatant	seldom	all the time
agenda	unruffled	block capital

 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Donald Trump has seldom been one for a climb down. So it was no surprise when he stood firmly behind his controversial tweets from Sunday.

Donald Trump, US President: “But if you’re not happy in the U.S., if you’re complaining all the time, very simply you can leave. You can leave right now. But they have to love; they have to love our country. They’re Congress people and I never used any names.”

Trump may not have named names, but there appeared little doubt he was referring to an outspoken quartet of Congresswomen that calls itself the squad, all of them US citizens, three of them born in the US, and none of them White.

They certainly felt singled out, and like the president, they didn’t mince their words.

Rashida Tlaib (Democrat), US Congresswoman: “Sadly this is not the first nor will it be the last time we hear disgusting, bigoted language from the president.

I urge house leadership, many of my colleagues to take action to impeach this lawless president today.”

Ilhan Omar (Democrat), US Congresswoman: “He’s launching a blatantly racist attack on four duly elected members of the United States of House of Representatives, all of whom are women of color. This is the agenda of White nationalists.”

Ayanna Pressley (Democrat), US Congresswoman: “Despite the occupant of the White House attempts to marginalize us and to silence us, please know that we are more than four people: our squad includes any person committed to building a more equitable and just world.”

Alexandria Ocasi-Cortez (Democrat) US Congresswoman: “He tells us that I should go back to the great borough of the Bronx and make it better. And that’s what I’m here to do.”

But even after that response, Trump was unrepentant and back on Twitter, this time he referenced the four progressives, claiming that they hate the US and Israel too, and that they are endorsing socialism.

Typically the president seems unruffled by any of this among his last tweets of the day was one containing just four familiar words in block capitals: Make America Great Again.

 

 

Questions

1. Donald Trump said “sorry” to everyone he had offended by his tweets. True or false?

2. Did Trump call for the deportation of his political opponents?

3. He specifically mentioned certain individuals. Is this right or wrong? Who were his apparent targets? Were they “average” or “ordinary” congress persons?

4. Did the Quartet or Squad launch a scathing criticism of Trump? What did they say?

5. Why did Trump tell them to “leave” the United States? Does he dislike them because they are non-White and female?

6. Is Trump a nationalist, or do some or many people consider him a nationalist?

 

A. Do you think Trump is a racist and xenophobe?

B. In your country, do some people sometimes tell others, “Love it or leave it.” Or “If you don’t like it here, quit complaining and get out.” Or “Go back to your country.” Or “If you don’t like it here, move to Cuba, North Korea or Iran.”

C. How do minorities fare in your country? They have complete equality, there is no discrimination, there is some discrimination, or there is lots of discrimination?

D. Have some or many people immigrated or moved your city or country for whatever reason?

E. Have some people from your city or country moved to other places for whatever reason?

F. What might happen in the future?