I've included two speeches below; they are examples of rhetoric-- sometimes gone wrong, sometimes gone right. You will be asked several questions on the final exam pertaining to these speeches. Read them carefully. You can also print them out for the exam, if you wish.
Speech #1
The reality television host said he is running for President. Here are his remarks from a speech given on June 16, 2015 at Trump Tower in New York City.
Wow. Whoa. That is some group of people. Thousands.
So nice, thank you very much. That’s really nice. Thank you. It’s great to be at Trump Tower. It’s great to be in a wonderful city, New York. And it’s an honor to have everybody here. This is beyond anybody’s expectations. There’s been no crowd like this.
And, I can tell, some of the candidates, they went in. They didn’t know the air-conditioner didn’t work. They sweated like dogs.
They didn’t know the room was too big, because they didn’t have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS? I don’t think it’s gonna happen.
Our country is in serious trouble. We don’t have victories anymore. We used to have victories, but we don’t have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say, China in a trade deal? They kill us. I beat China all the time. All the time.
When did we beat Japan at anything? They send their cars over by the millions, and what do we do? When was the last time you saw a Chevrolet in Tokyo? It doesn’t exist, folks. They beat us all the time.
When do we beat Mexico at the border? They’re laughing at us, at our stupidity. And now they are beating us economically. They are not our friend, believe me. But they’re killing us economically.
The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems.
Thank you. It’s true, and these are the best and the finest. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.
But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we’re getting. And it only makes common sense. It only makes common sense. They’re sending us not the right people.
It’s coming from more than Mexico. It’s coming from all over South and Latin America, and it’s coming probably— probably— from the Middle East. But we don’t know. Because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don’t know what’s happening. And it’s got to stop and it’s got to stop fast.
Islamic terrorism is eating up large portions of the Middle East. They’ve become rich. I’m in competition with them.
They just built a hotel in Syria. Can you believe this? They built a hotel. When I have to build a hotel, I pay interest. They don’t have to pay interest, because they took the oil that, when we left Iraq, I said we should’ve taken.
So now ISIS has the oil, and what they don’t have, Iran has. And in 19— and I will tell you this, and I said it very strongly, years ago, I said— and I love the military, and I want to have the strongest military that we’ve ever had, and we need it more now than ever. But I said, “Don’t hit Iraq,” because you’re going to totally destabilize the Middle East. Iran is going to take over the Middle East, Iran and somebody else will get the oil, and it turned out that Iran is now taking over Iraq. Think of it. Iran is taking over Iraq, and they’re taking it over big league.
We spent $2 trillion in Iraq, $2 trillion. We lost thousands of lives, thousands in Iraq. We have wounded soldiers, who I love, I love — they’re great — all over the place, thousands and thousands of wounded soldiers.
And we have nothing. We can’t even go there. We have nothing. And every time we give Iraq equipment, the first time a bullet goes off in the air, they leave it.
Last week, I read 2,300 Humvees— these are big vehicles— were left behind for the enemy. 2,000? You would say maybe two, maybe four? 2,300 sophisticated vehicles, they ran, and the enemy took them.
Last quarter, it was just announced our gross domestic product— a sign of strength, right? But not for us. It was below zero. Whoever heard of this? It’s never below zero.
Our labor participation rate was the worst since 1978. But think of it, GDP below zero, horrible labor participation rate.
And our real unemployment is anywhere from 18 to 20 percent. Don’t believe the 5.6. Don’t believe it.
That’s right. A lot of people up there can’t get jobs. They can’t get jobs, because there are no jobs, because China has our jobs and Mexico has our jobs. They all have jobs.
But the real number, the real number is anywhere from 18 to 19 and maybe even 21 percent, and nobody talks about it, because it’s a statistic that’s full of nonsense.
Our enemies are getting stronger and stronger by the way, and we as a country are getting weaker. Even our nuclear arsenal doesn’t work.
It came out recently they have equipment that is 30 years old. They don’t know if it worked. And I thought it was horrible when it was broadcast on television, because boy, does that send signals to Putin and all of the other people that look at us and they say, “That is a group of people, and that is a nation that truly has no clue. They don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t know what they’re doing.”
We have a disaster called the big lie: Obamacare. Obamacare.
Yesterday, it came out that costs are going for people up 29, 39, 49, and even 55 percent, and deductibles are through the roof. You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high, it’s virtually useless. It’s virtually useless. It is a disaster.
And remember the $5 billion website? $5 billion we spent on a website, and to this day it doesn’t work. A $5 billion website.
I have so many websites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a website. It costs me $3. $5 billion website.
Well, you need somebody, because politicians are all talk, no action. Nothing’s gonna get done. They will not bring us— believe me— to the promised land. They will not.
As an example, I’ve been on the circuit making speeches, and I hear my fellow Republicans. And they’re wonderful people. I like them. They all want me to support them. They don’t know how to bring it about. They come up to my office. I’m meeting with three of them in the next week. And they don’t know— “Are you running? Are you not running? Could we have your support? What do we do? How do we do it?”
I like them. And I hear their speeches. And they don’t talk jobs and they don’t talk China. When was the last time you heard China is killing us? They’re devaluing their currency to a level that you wouldn’t believe. It makes it impossible for our companies to compete, impossible. They’re killing us.
But you don’t hear that from anybody else. You don’t hear it from anybody else. And I watch the speeches.
I watch the speeches of these people, and they say the sun will rise, the moon will set, all sorts of wonderful things will happen. And people are saying, “What’s going on? I just want a job. Just get me a job. I don’t need the rhetoric. I want a job.”
And that’s what’s happening. And it’s going to get worse, because remember, Obamacare really kicks in in ’16, 2016. Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him, I actually would say. I have the best courses in the world, so I’d say, you what, if he wants to— I have one right next to the White House, right on the Potomac. If he’d like to play, that’s fine.
In fact, I’d love him to leave early and play, that would be a very good thing.
But Obamacare kicks in in 2016. Really big league. It is going to be amazingly destructive. Doctors are quitting. I have a friend who’s a doctor, and he said to me the other day, “Donald, I never saw anything like it. I have more accountants than I have nurses. It’s a disaster. My patients are beside themselves. They had a plan that was good. They have no plan now.”
We have to repeal Obamacare, and it can be— and— and it can be replaced with something much better for everybody. Let it be for everybody. But much better and much less expensive for people and for the government. And we can do it.
So I’ve watched the politicians. I’ve dealt with them all my life. If you can’t make a good deal with a politician, then there’s something wrong with you. You’re certainly not very good. And that’s what we have representing us. They will never make America great again. They don’t even have a chance. They’re controlled fully— they’re controlled fully by the lobbyists, by the donors, and by the special interests, fully.
Yes, they control them. Hey, I have lobbyists. I have to tell you. I have lobbyists that can produce anything for me. They’re great. But you know what? it won’t happen. It won’t happen. Because we have to stop doing things for some people, but for this country, it’s destroying our country. We have to stop, and it has to stop now.
Now, our country needs— our country needs a truly great leader, and we need a truly great leader now. We need a leader that wrote “The Art of the Deal.”
We need a leader that can bring back our jobs, can bring back our manufacturing, can bring back our military, can take care of our vets. Our vets have been abandoned.
And we also need a cheerleader.
You know, when President Obama was elected, I said, “Well, the one thing, I think he’ll do well. I think he’ll be a great cheerleader for the country. I think he’d be a great spirit.”
He was vibrant. He was young. I really thought that he would be a great cheerleader.
He’s not a leader. That’s true. You’re right about that.
But he wasn’t a cheerleader. He’s actually a negative force. He’s been a negative force. He wasn’t a cheerleader; he was the opposite.
We need somebody that can take the brand of the United States and make it great again. It’s not great again.
We need— we need somebody— we need somebody that literally will take this country and make it great again. We can do that.
And, I will tell you, I love my life. I have a wonderful family. They’re saying, “Dad, you’re going to do something that’s going to be so tough.”
You know, all of my life, I’ve heard that a truly successful person, a really, really successful person and even modestly successful cannot run for public office. Just can’t happen. And yet that’s the kind of mindset that you need to make this country great again.
So ladies and gentlemen…I am officially running… for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again.
It can happen. Our country has tremendous potential. We have tremendous people.
We have people that aren’t working. We have people that have no incentive to work. But they’re going to have incentive to work, because the greatest social program is a job. And they’ll be proud, and they’ll love it, and they’ll make much more than they would’ve ever made, and they’ll be— they’ll be doing so well, and we’re going to be thriving as a country, thriving. It can happen.
I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created. I tell you that.
I’ll bring back our jobs from China, from Mexico, from Japan, from so many places. I’ll bring back our jobs, and I’ll bring back our money.
Right now, think of this: We owe China $1.3 trillion. We owe Japan more than that. So they come in, they take our jobs, they take our money, and then they loan us back the money, and we pay them in interest, and then the dollar goes up so their deal’s even better.
How stupid are our leaders? How stupid are these politicians to allow this to happen? How stupid are they?
I’m going to tell you— thank you. I’m going to tell you a couple of stories about trade, because I’m totally against the trade bill for a number of reasons.
Number one, the people negotiating don’t have a clue. Our president doesn’t have a clue. He’s a bad negotiator.
He’s the one that did Bergdahl. We get Bergdahl, they get five killer terrorists that everybody wanted over there.
We get Bergdahl. We get a traitor. We get a no-good traitor, and they get the five people that they wanted for years, and those people are now back on the battlefield trying to kill us. That’s the negotiator we have.
Take a look at the deal he’s making with Iran. He makes that deal, Israel maybe won’t exist very long. It’s a disaster, and we have to protect Israel. But…
So we need people— I’m a free trader. But the problem with free trade is you need really talented people to negotiate for you. If you don’t have talented people, if you don’t have great leadership, if you don’t have people that know business, not just a political hack that got the job because he made a contribution to a campaign, which is the way all jobs, just about, are gotten, free trade terrible.
Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people, but we have people that are stupid. We have people that aren’t smart. And we have people that are controlled by special interests. And it’s just not going to work.
So, here’s a couple of stories happened recently. A friend of mine is a great manufacturer. And, you know, China comes over and they dump all their stuff, and I buy it. I buy it, because, frankly, I have an obligation to buy it, because they devalue their currency so brilliantly, they just did it recently, and nobody thought they could do it again.
But with all our problems with Russia, with all our problems with everything— everything, they got away with it again. And it’s impossible for our people here to compete.
So I want to tell you this story. A friend of mine who’s a great manufacturer, calls me up a few weeks ago. He’s very upset. I said, “What’s your problem?”
He said, “You know, I make great product.”
And I said, “I know. I know that because I buy the product.”
He said, “I can’t get it into China. They won’t accept it. I sent a boat over and they actually sent it back. They talked about environmental, they talked about all sorts of crap that had nothing to do with it.”
I said, “Oh, wait a minute, that’s terrible. Does anyone know this?”
He said, “Yeah, they do it all the time with other people.”
I said, “They send it back?”
“Yeah. So I finally got it over there and they charged me a big tariff. They’re not supposed to be doing that. I told them.”
Now, they do charge you tariff on trucks, when we send trucks and other things over there.
Ask Boeing. They wanted Boeing’s secrets. They wanted their patents and all their secrets before they agreed to buy planes from Boeing.
Hey, I’m not saying they’re stupid. I like China. I sell apartments for— I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them? I own a big chunk of the Bank of America Building at 1290 Avenue of the Americas, that I got from China in a war. Very valuable.
I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower. I love China. People say, “Oh, you don’t like China?”
No, I love them. But their leaders are much smarter than our leaders, and we can’t sustain ourself with that. There’s too much— it’s like— it’s like take the New England Patriots and Tom Brady and have them play your high school football team. That’s the difference between China’s leaders and our leaders.
They are ripping us. We are rebuilding China. We’re rebuilding many countries. China, you go there now, roads, bridges, schools, you never saw anything like it. They have bridges that make the George Washington Bridge look like small potatoes. And they’re all over the place.
We have all the cards, but we don’t know how to use them. We don’t even know that we have the cards, because our leaders don’t understand the game. We could turn off that spigot by charging them tax until they behave properly.
Now they’re going militarily. They’re building a military island in the middle of the South China sea. A military island. Now, our country could never do that because we’d have to get environmental clearance, and the environmentalist wouldn’t let our country— we would never build in an ocean. They built it in about one year, this massive military port.
They’re building up their military to a point that is very scary. You have a problem with ISIS. You have a bigger problem with China.
And, in my opinion, the new China, believe it or not, in terms of trade, is Mexico.
So this man tells me about the manufacturing. I say, “That’s a terrible story. I hate to hear it.”
But I have another one, Ford.
So Mexico takes a company, a car company that was going to build in Tennessee, rips it out. Everybody thought the deal was dead. Reported it in the Wall Street Journal recently. Everybody thought it was a done deal. It’s going in and that’s going to be it, going into Tennessee. Great state, great people.
All of a sudden, at the last moment, this big car manufacturer, foreign, announces they’re not going to Tennessee. They’re gonna spend their $1 billion in Mexico instead. Not good.
Now, Ford announces a few weeks ago that Ford is going to build a $2.5 billion car and truck and parts manufacturing plant in Mexico. $2.5 billion, it’s going to be one of the largest in the world. Ford. Good company.
So I announced that I’m running for president. I would…
… one of the early things I would do, probably before I even got in— and I wouldn’t even use— you know, I have— I know the smartest negotiators in the world. I know the good ones. I know the bad ones. I know the overrated ones.
You get a lot of them that are overrated. They’re not good. They think they are. They get good stories, because the newspapers get buffaloed. But they’re not good.
But I know the negotiators in the world, and I put them one for each country. Believe me, folks. We will do very, very well, very, very well.
But I wouldn’t even waste my time with this one. I would call up the head of Ford, who I know. If I was president, I’d say, “Congratulations. I understand that you’re building a nice $2.5 billion car factory in Mexico and that you’re going to take your cars and sell them to the United States zero tax, just flow them across the border.”
And you say to yourself, “How does that help us,” right? “How does that help us? Where is that good”? It’s not.
So I would say, “Congratulations. That’s the good news. Let me give you the bad news. Every car and every truck and every part manufactured in this plant that comes across the border, we’re going to charge you a 35-percent tax, and that tax is going to be paid simultaneously with the transaction, and that’s it.
Now, here’s what is going to happen. If it’s not me in the position, it’s one of these politicians that we’re running against, you know, the 400 people that we’re (inaudible). And here’s what’s going to happen. They’re not so stupid. They know it’s not a good thing, and they may even be upset by it. But then they’re going to get a call from the donors or probably from the lobbyist for Ford and say, “You can’t do that to Ford, because Ford takes care of me and I take care of you, and you can’t do that to Ford.”
And guess what? No problem. They’re going to build in Mexico. They’re going to take away thousands of jobs. It’s very bad for us.
So under President Trump, here’s what would happen:
The head of Ford will call me back, I would say within an hour after I told them the bad news. But it could be he’d want to be cool, and he’ll wait until the next day. You know, they want to be a little cool.
And he’ll say, “Please, please, please.” He’ll beg for a little while, and I’ll say, “No interest.” Then he’ll call all sorts of political people, and I’ll say, “Sorry, fellas. No interest,” because I don’t need anybody’s money. It’s nice. I don’t need anybody’s money.
I’m using my own money. I’m not using the lobbyists. I’m not using donors. I don’t care. I’m really rich. I (inaudible).
And by the way, I’m not even saying that’s the kind of mindset, that’s the kind of thinking you need for this country.
So— because we got to make the country rich.
It sounds crass. Somebody said, “Oh, that’s crass.” It’s not crass.
We got $18 trillion in debt. We got nothing but problems.
We got a military that needs equipment all over the place. We got nuclear weapons that are obsolete.
We’ve got nothing. We’ve got Social Security that’s going to be destroyed if somebody like me doesn’t bring money into the country. All these other people want to cut the hell out of it. I’m not going to cut it at all; I’m going to bring money in, and we’re going to save it.
But here’s what’s going to happen:
After I’m called by 30 friends of mine who contributed to different campaigns, after I’m called by all of the special interests and by the— the donors and by the lobbyists— and they have zero chance at convincing me, zero— I’ll get a call the next day from the head of Ford. He’ll say. “Please reconsider,” I’ll say no.
He’ll say, “Mr. President, we’ve decided to move the plant back to the United States, and we’re not going to build it in Mexico.” That’s it. They have no choice. They have no choice.
There are hundreds of things like that. I’ll give you another example.
Saudi Arabia, they make $1 billion a day. $1 billion a day. I love the Saudis. Many are in this building. They make a billion dollars a day. Whenever they have problems, we send over the ships. We say “we’re gonna protect.” What are we doing? They’ve got nothing but money.
If the right person asked them, they’d pay a fortune. They wouldn’t be there except for us.
And believe me, you look at the border with Yemen. You remember Obama a year ago, Yemen was a great victory. Two weeks later, the place was blown up. Everybody got out— and they kept our equipment.
They always keep our equipment. We ought to send used equipment, right? They always keep our equipment. We ought to send some real junk, because, frankly, it would be— we ought to send our surplus. We’re always losing this gorgeous brand-new stuff.
But look at that border with Saudi Arabia. Do you really think that these people are interested in Yemen? Saudi Arabia without us is gone. They’re gone.
And I’m the one that made all of the right predictions about Iraq. You know, all of these politicians that I’m running against now— it’s so nice to say I’m running as opposed to if I run, if I run. I’m running.
But all of these politicians that I’m running against now, they’re trying to disassociate. I mean, you looked at Bush, it took him five days to answer the question on Iraq. He couldn’t answer the question. He didn’t know. I said, “Is he intelligent?”
Then I looked at Rubio. He was unable to answer the question, is Iraq a good thing or bad thing? He didn’t know. He couldn’t answer the question.
How are these people gonna lead us? How are we gonna— how are we gonna go back and make it great again? We can’t. They don’t have a clue. They can’t lead us. They can’t. They can’t even answer simple questions. It was terrible.
But Saudi Arabia is in big, big trouble. Now, thanks to fracking and other things, the oil is all over the place. And I used to say it, there are ships at sea, and this was during the worst crisis, that were loaded up with oil, and the cartel kept the price up, because, again, they were smarter than our leaders. They were smarter than our leaders.
There is so much wealth out there that can make our country so rich again, and therefore make it great again. Because we need money. We’re dying. We’re dying. We need money. We have to do it. And we need the right people.
So Ford will come back. They’ll all come back. And I will say this, this is going to be an election, in my opinion, that’s based on competence.
Somebody said — thank you, darlin’.
Somebody said to me the other day, a reporter, a very nice reporter, “But, Mr. Trump, you’re not a nice person.”
That’s true. But actually I am. I think I am a nice person. People that know me, like me. Does my family like me? I think so, right. Look at my family. I’m proud of my family.
By the way, speaking of my family, Melania, Barron, Kai, Donnie, Don, Vanessa, Tiffany, Evanka did a great job. Did she do a great job?
Great. Jared, Laura and Eric, I’m very proud of my family. They’re a great family.
So the reporter said to me the other day, “But, Mr. Trump, you’re not a nice person. How can you get people to vote for you?”
I said, “I don’t know.” I said, “I think that number one, I am a nice person. I give a lot of money away to charities and other things. I think I’m actually a very nice person.”
But, I said, “This is going to be an election that’s based on competence, because people are tired of these nice people. And they’re tired of being ripped off by everybody in the world. And they’re tired of spending more money on education than any nation in the world per capita, than any nation in the world, and we are 26th in the world, 25 countries are better than us in education. And some of them are like third world countries. But we’re becoming a third word country, because of our infrastructure, our airports, our roads, everything. So one of the things I did, and I said, you know what I’ll do. I’ll do it. Because a lot of people said, “He’ll never run. Number one, he won’t want to give up his lifestyle.”
They’re right about that, but I’m doing it.
Number two, I’m a private company, so nobody knows what I’m worth. And the one thing is that when you run, you have to announce and certify to all sorts of governmental authorities your net worth.
So I said, “That’s OK.” I’m proud of my net worth. I’ve done an amazing job.
I started off— thank you— I started off in a small office with my father in Brooklyn and Queens, and my father said — and I love my father. I learned so much. He was a great negotiator. I learned so much just sitting at his feet playing with blocks listening to him negotiate with subcontractors. But I learned a lot.
But he used to say, “Donald, don’t go into Manhattan. That’s the big leagues. We don’t know anything about that. Don’t do it.”
I said, “I gotta go into Manhattan. I gotta build those big buildings. I gotta do it, Dad. I’ve gotta do it.”
And after four or five years in Brooklyn, I ventured into Manhattan and did a lot of great deals— the Grand Hyatt Hotel. I was responsible for the convention center on the west side. I did a lot of great deals, and I did them early and young. And now I’m building all over the world, and I love what I’m doing.
But they all said, a lot of the pundits on television, “Well, Donald will never run, and one of the main reasons is he’s private and he’s probably not as successful as everybody thinks.”
So I said to myself, you know, nobody’s ever going to know unless I run, because I’m really proud of my success. I really am.
I’ve employed— I’ve employed tens of thousands of people over my lifetime. That means medical. That means education. That means everything.
So a large accounting firm and my accountants have been working for months, because it’s big and complex, and they’ve put together a statement, a financial statement, just a summary. But everything will be filed eventually with the government, and we don’t [use] extensions or anything. We’ll be filing it right on time. We don’t need anything.
And it was even reported incorrectly yesterday, because they said, “He had assets of $9 billion.” So I said, “No, that’s the wrong number. That’s the wrong number. Not assets.”
So they put together this. And before I say it, I have to say this. I made it the old-fashioned way. It’s real estate. You know, it’s real estate.
It’s labor, and it’s unions good and some bad and lots of people that aren’t in unions, and it’s all over the place and building all over the world.
And I have assets— big accounting firm, one of the most highly respected— 9 billion 240 million dollars.
And I have liabilities of about $500 million. That’s long-term debt, very low interest rates.
In fact, one of the big banks came to me and said, “Donald, you don’t have enough borrowings. Could we loan you $4 billion”? I said, “I don’t need it. I don’t want it. And I’ve been there. I don’t want it.”
But in two seconds, they give me whatever I wanted. So I have a total net worth, and now with the increase, it’ll be well-over $10 billion. But here, a total net worth of—net worth, not assets, not— a net worth, after all debt, after all expenses, the greatest assets— Trump Tower, 1290 Avenue of the Americas, Bank of America building in San Francisco, 40 Wall Street, sometimes referred to as the Trump building right opposite the New York— many other places all over the world.
So the total is $8,737,540,00.
Now I’m not doing that…
I’m not doing that to brag, because you know what? I don’t have to brag. I don’t have to, believe it or not.
I’m doing that to say that that’s the kind of thinking our country needs. We need that thinking. We have the opposite thinking.
We have losers. We have losers. We have people that don’t have it. We have people that are morally corrupt. We have people that are selling this country down the drain.
So I put together this statement, and the only reason I’m telling you about it today is because we really do have to get going, because if we have another three or four years— you know, we’re at $8 trillion now. We’re soon going to be at $20 trillion.
According to the economists— who I’m not big believers in, but, nevertheless, this is what they’re saying— that $24 trillion— we’re very close— that’s the point of no return. $24 trillion. We will be there soon. That’s when we become Greece. That’s when we become a country that’s unsalvageable. And we’re gonna be there very soon. We’re gonna be there very soon.
So, just to sum up, I would do various things very quickly. I would repeal and replace the big lie, Obamacare.
I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall.
Mark my words.
Nobody would be tougher on ISIS than Donald Trump. Nobody.
I will find — within our military, I will find the General Patton or I will find General MacArthur, I will find the right guy. I will find the guy that’s going to take that military and make it really work. Nobody, nobody will be pushing us around.
I will stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons. And we won’t be using a man like Secretary Kerry that has absolutely no concept of negotiation, who’s making a horrible and laughable deal, who’s just being tapped along as they make weapons right now, and then goes into a bicycle race at 72 years old, and falls and breaks his leg. I won’t be doing that. And I promise I will never be in a bicycle race. That I can tell you.
I will immediately terminate President Obama’s illegal executive order on immigration, immediately.
Fully support and back up the Second Amendment.
Now, it’s very interesting. Today I heard it. Through stupidity, in a very, very hard core prison, interestingly named Clinton, two vicious murderers, two vicious people escaped, and nobody knows where they are. And a woman was on television this morning, and she said, “You know, Mr. Trump,” and she was telling other people, and I actually called her, and she said, “You know, Mr. Trump, I always was against guns. I didn’t want guns. And now since this happened”— it’s up in the prison area— “my husband and I are finally in agreement, because he wanted the guns. We now have a gun on every table. We’re ready to start shooting.”
I said, “Very interesting.”
So protect the Second Amendment.
End— end Common Core. Common Core should— it is a disaster. Bush is totally in favor of Common Core. I don’t see how he can possibly get the nomination. He’s weak on immigration. He’s in favor of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can’t do it. We have to end education has to be local.
Rebuild the country’s infrastructure.
Nobody can do that like me. Believe me. It will be done on time, on budget, way below cost, way below what anyone ever thought.
I look at the roads being built all over the country, and I say I can build those things for one-third. What they do is unbelievable, how bad.
You know, we’re building on Pennsylvania Avenue, the Old Post Office, we’re converting it into one of the world’s great hotels. It’s gonna be the best hotel in Washington, D.C. We got it from the General Services Administration in Washington. The Obama administration. We got it. It was the most highly sought after— or one of them, but I think the most highly sought after project in the history of General Services. We got it. People were shocked, Trump got it.
Well, I got it for two reasons. Number one, we’re really good. Number two, we had a really good plan. And I’ll add in the third, we had a great financial statement. Because the General Services, who are terrific people, by the way, and talented people, they wanted to do a great job. And they wanted to make sure it got built.
So we have to rebuild our infrastructure, our bridges, our roadways, our airports. You come into La Guardia Airport, it’s like we’re in a third world country. You look at the patches and the 40-year-old floor. They throw down asphalt, and they throw.
You look at these airports, we are like a third world country. And I come in from China and I come in from Qatar and I come in from different places, and they have the most incredible airports in the world. You come to back to this country and you have LAX, disaster. You have all of these disastrous airports. We have to rebuild our infrastructure.
Save Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security without cuts. Have to do it.
Get rid of the fraud. Get rid of the waste and abuse, but save it. People have been paying it for years. And now many of these candidates want to cut it. You save it by making the United States, by making us rich again, by taking back all of the money that’s being lost.
Renegotiate our foreign trade deals.
Reduce our $18 trillion in debt, because, believe me, we’re in a bubble. We have artificially low interest rates. We have a stock market that, frankly, has been good to me, but I still hate to see what’s happening. We have a stock market that is so bloated.
Be careful of a bubble because what you’ve seen in the past might be small potatoes compared to what happens. So be very, very careful.
And strengthen our military and take care of our vets. So, so important.
Sadly, the American dream is dead.
But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before, and we will make America great again.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
The reality television host said he is running for President. Here are his remarks from a speech given on June 16, 2015 at Trump Tower in New York City.
Wow. Whoa. That is some group of people. Thousands.
So nice, thank you very much. That’s really nice. Thank you. It’s great to be at Trump Tower. It’s great to be in a wonderful city, New York. And it’s an honor to have everybody here. This is beyond anybody’s expectations. There’s been no crowd like this.
And, I can tell, some of the candidates, they went in. They didn’t know the air-conditioner didn’t work. They sweated like dogs.
They didn’t know the room was too big, because they didn’t have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS? I don’t think it’s gonna happen.
Our country is in serious trouble. We don’t have victories anymore. We used to have victories, but we don’t have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say, China in a trade deal? They kill us. I beat China all the time. All the time.
When did we beat Japan at anything? They send their cars over by the millions, and what do we do? When was the last time you saw a Chevrolet in Tokyo? It doesn’t exist, folks. They beat us all the time.
When do we beat Mexico at the border? They’re laughing at us, at our stupidity. And now they are beating us economically. They are not our friend, believe me. But they’re killing us economically.
The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems.
Thank you. It’s true, and these are the best and the finest. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.
But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we’re getting. And it only makes common sense. It only makes common sense. They’re sending us not the right people.
It’s coming from more than Mexico. It’s coming from all over South and Latin America, and it’s coming probably— probably— from the Middle East. But we don’t know. Because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don’t know what’s happening. And it’s got to stop and it’s got to stop fast.
Islamic terrorism is eating up large portions of the Middle East. They’ve become rich. I’m in competition with them.
They just built a hotel in Syria. Can you believe this? They built a hotel. When I have to build a hotel, I pay interest. They don’t have to pay interest, because they took the oil that, when we left Iraq, I said we should’ve taken.
So now ISIS has the oil, and what they don’t have, Iran has. And in 19— and I will tell you this, and I said it very strongly, years ago, I said— and I love the military, and I want to have the strongest military that we’ve ever had, and we need it more now than ever. But I said, “Don’t hit Iraq,” because you’re going to totally destabilize the Middle East. Iran is going to take over the Middle East, Iran and somebody else will get the oil, and it turned out that Iran is now taking over Iraq. Think of it. Iran is taking over Iraq, and they’re taking it over big league.
We spent $2 trillion in Iraq, $2 trillion. We lost thousands of lives, thousands in Iraq. We have wounded soldiers, who I love, I love — they’re great — all over the place, thousands and thousands of wounded soldiers.
And we have nothing. We can’t even go there. We have nothing. And every time we give Iraq equipment, the first time a bullet goes off in the air, they leave it.
Last week, I read 2,300 Humvees— these are big vehicles— were left behind for the enemy. 2,000? You would say maybe two, maybe four? 2,300 sophisticated vehicles, they ran, and the enemy took them.
Last quarter, it was just announced our gross domestic product— a sign of strength, right? But not for us. It was below zero. Whoever heard of this? It’s never below zero.
Our labor participation rate was the worst since 1978. But think of it, GDP below zero, horrible labor participation rate.
And our real unemployment is anywhere from 18 to 20 percent. Don’t believe the 5.6. Don’t believe it.
That’s right. A lot of people up there can’t get jobs. They can’t get jobs, because there are no jobs, because China has our jobs and Mexico has our jobs. They all have jobs.
But the real number, the real number is anywhere from 18 to 19 and maybe even 21 percent, and nobody talks about it, because it’s a statistic that’s full of nonsense.
Our enemies are getting stronger and stronger by the way, and we as a country are getting weaker. Even our nuclear arsenal doesn’t work.
It came out recently they have equipment that is 30 years old. They don’t know if it worked. And I thought it was horrible when it was broadcast on television, because boy, does that send signals to Putin and all of the other people that look at us and they say, “That is a group of people, and that is a nation that truly has no clue. They don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t know what they’re doing.”
We have a disaster called the big lie: Obamacare. Obamacare.
Yesterday, it came out that costs are going for people up 29, 39, 49, and even 55 percent, and deductibles are through the roof. You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high, it’s virtually useless. It’s virtually useless. It is a disaster.
And remember the $5 billion website? $5 billion we spent on a website, and to this day it doesn’t work. A $5 billion website.
I have so many websites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a website. It costs me $3. $5 billion website.
Well, you need somebody, because politicians are all talk, no action. Nothing’s gonna get done. They will not bring us— believe me— to the promised land. They will not.
As an example, I’ve been on the circuit making speeches, and I hear my fellow Republicans. And they’re wonderful people. I like them. They all want me to support them. They don’t know how to bring it about. They come up to my office. I’m meeting with three of them in the next week. And they don’t know— “Are you running? Are you not running? Could we have your support? What do we do? How do we do it?”
I like them. And I hear their speeches. And they don’t talk jobs and they don’t talk China. When was the last time you heard China is killing us? They’re devaluing their currency to a level that you wouldn’t believe. It makes it impossible for our companies to compete, impossible. They’re killing us.
But you don’t hear that from anybody else. You don’t hear it from anybody else. And I watch the speeches.
I watch the speeches of these people, and they say the sun will rise, the moon will set, all sorts of wonderful things will happen. And people are saying, “What’s going on? I just want a job. Just get me a job. I don’t need the rhetoric. I want a job.”
And that’s what’s happening. And it’s going to get worse, because remember, Obamacare really kicks in in ’16, 2016. Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him, I actually would say. I have the best courses in the world, so I’d say, you what, if he wants to— I have one right next to the White House, right on the Potomac. If he’d like to play, that’s fine.
In fact, I’d love him to leave early and play, that would be a very good thing.
But Obamacare kicks in in 2016. Really big league. It is going to be amazingly destructive. Doctors are quitting. I have a friend who’s a doctor, and he said to me the other day, “Donald, I never saw anything like it. I have more accountants than I have nurses. It’s a disaster. My patients are beside themselves. They had a plan that was good. They have no plan now.”
We have to repeal Obamacare, and it can be— and— and it can be replaced with something much better for everybody. Let it be for everybody. But much better and much less expensive for people and for the government. And we can do it.
So I’ve watched the politicians. I’ve dealt with them all my life. If you can’t make a good deal with a politician, then there’s something wrong with you. You’re certainly not very good. And that’s what we have representing us. They will never make America great again. They don’t even have a chance. They’re controlled fully— they’re controlled fully by the lobbyists, by the donors, and by the special interests, fully.
Yes, they control them. Hey, I have lobbyists. I have to tell you. I have lobbyists that can produce anything for me. They’re great. But you know what? it won’t happen. It won’t happen. Because we have to stop doing things for some people, but for this country, it’s destroying our country. We have to stop, and it has to stop now.
Now, our country needs— our country needs a truly great leader, and we need a truly great leader now. We need a leader that wrote “The Art of the Deal.”
We need a leader that can bring back our jobs, can bring back our manufacturing, can bring back our military, can take care of our vets. Our vets have been abandoned.
And we also need a cheerleader.
You know, when President Obama was elected, I said, “Well, the one thing, I think he’ll do well. I think he’ll be a great cheerleader for the country. I think he’d be a great spirit.”
He was vibrant. He was young. I really thought that he would be a great cheerleader.
He’s not a leader. That’s true. You’re right about that.
But he wasn’t a cheerleader. He’s actually a negative force. He’s been a negative force. He wasn’t a cheerleader; he was the opposite.
We need somebody that can take the brand of the United States and make it great again. It’s not great again.
We need— we need somebody— we need somebody that literally will take this country and make it great again. We can do that.
And, I will tell you, I love my life. I have a wonderful family. They’re saying, “Dad, you’re going to do something that’s going to be so tough.”
You know, all of my life, I’ve heard that a truly successful person, a really, really successful person and even modestly successful cannot run for public office. Just can’t happen. And yet that’s the kind of mindset that you need to make this country great again.
So ladies and gentlemen…I am officially running… for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again.
It can happen. Our country has tremendous potential. We have tremendous people.
We have people that aren’t working. We have people that have no incentive to work. But they’re going to have incentive to work, because the greatest social program is a job. And they’ll be proud, and they’ll love it, and they’ll make much more than they would’ve ever made, and they’ll be— they’ll be doing so well, and we’re going to be thriving as a country, thriving. It can happen.
I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created. I tell you that.
I’ll bring back our jobs from China, from Mexico, from Japan, from so many places. I’ll bring back our jobs, and I’ll bring back our money.
Right now, think of this: We owe China $1.3 trillion. We owe Japan more than that. So they come in, they take our jobs, they take our money, and then they loan us back the money, and we pay them in interest, and then the dollar goes up so their deal’s even better.
How stupid are our leaders? How stupid are these politicians to allow this to happen? How stupid are they?
I’m going to tell you— thank you. I’m going to tell you a couple of stories about trade, because I’m totally against the trade bill for a number of reasons.
Number one, the people negotiating don’t have a clue. Our president doesn’t have a clue. He’s a bad negotiator.
He’s the one that did Bergdahl. We get Bergdahl, they get five killer terrorists that everybody wanted over there.
We get Bergdahl. We get a traitor. We get a no-good traitor, and they get the five people that they wanted for years, and those people are now back on the battlefield trying to kill us. That’s the negotiator we have.
Take a look at the deal he’s making with Iran. He makes that deal, Israel maybe won’t exist very long. It’s a disaster, and we have to protect Israel. But…
So we need people— I’m a free trader. But the problem with free trade is you need really talented people to negotiate for you. If you don’t have talented people, if you don’t have great leadership, if you don’t have people that know business, not just a political hack that got the job because he made a contribution to a campaign, which is the way all jobs, just about, are gotten, free trade terrible.
Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people, but we have people that are stupid. We have people that aren’t smart. And we have people that are controlled by special interests. And it’s just not going to work.
So, here’s a couple of stories happened recently. A friend of mine is a great manufacturer. And, you know, China comes over and they dump all their stuff, and I buy it. I buy it, because, frankly, I have an obligation to buy it, because they devalue their currency so brilliantly, they just did it recently, and nobody thought they could do it again.
But with all our problems with Russia, with all our problems with everything— everything, they got away with it again. And it’s impossible for our people here to compete.
So I want to tell you this story. A friend of mine who’s a great manufacturer, calls me up a few weeks ago. He’s very upset. I said, “What’s your problem?”
He said, “You know, I make great product.”
And I said, “I know. I know that because I buy the product.”
He said, “I can’t get it into China. They won’t accept it. I sent a boat over and they actually sent it back. They talked about environmental, they talked about all sorts of crap that had nothing to do with it.”
I said, “Oh, wait a minute, that’s terrible. Does anyone know this?”
He said, “Yeah, they do it all the time with other people.”
I said, “They send it back?”
“Yeah. So I finally got it over there and they charged me a big tariff. They’re not supposed to be doing that. I told them.”
Now, they do charge you tariff on trucks, when we send trucks and other things over there.
Ask Boeing. They wanted Boeing’s secrets. They wanted their patents and all their secrets before they agreed to buy planes from Boeing.
Hey, I’m not saying they’re stupid. I like China. I sell apartments for— I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them? I own a big chunk of the Bank of America Building at 1290 Avenue of the Americas, that I got from China in a war. Very valuable.
I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower. I love China. People say, “Oh, you don’t like China?”
No, I love them. But their leaders are much smarter than our leaders, and we can’t sustain ourself with that. There’s too much— it’s like— it’s like take the New England Patriots and Tom Brady and have them play your high school football team. That’s the difference between China’s leaders and our leaders.
They are ripping us. We are rebuilding China. We’re rebuilding many countries. China, you go there now, roads, bridges, schools, you never saw anything like it. They have bridges that make the George Washington Bridge look like small potatoes. And they’re all over the place.
We have all the cards, but we don’t know how to use them. We don’t even know that we have the cards, because our leaders don’t understand the game. We could turn off that spigot by charging them tax until they behave properly.
Now they’re going militarily. They’re building a military island in the middle of the South China sea. A military island. Now, our country could never do that because we’d have to get environmental clearance, and the environmentalist wouldn’t let our country— we would never build in an ocean. They built it in about one year, this massive military port.
They’re building up their military to a point that is very scary. You have a problem with ISIS. You have a bigger problem with China.
And, in my opinion, the new China, believe it or not, in terms of trade, is Mexico.
So this man tells me about the manufacturing. I say, “That’s a terrible story. I hate to hear it.”
But I have another one, Ford.
So Mexico takes a company, a car company that was going to build in Tennessee, rips it out. Everybody thought the deal was dead. Reported it in the Wall Street Journal recently. Everybody thought it was a done deal. It’s going in and that’s going to be it, going into Tennessee. Great state, great people.
All of a sudden, at the last moment, this big car manufacturer, foreign, announces they’re not going to Tennessee. They’re gonna spend their $1 billion in Mexico instead. Not good.
Now, Ford announces a few weeks ago that Ford is going to build a $2.5 billion car and truck and parts manufacturing plant in Mexico. $2.5 billion, it’s going to be one of the largest in the world. Ford. Good company.
So I announced that I’m running for president. I would…
… one of the early things I would do, probably before I even got in— and I wouldn’t even use— you know, I have— I know the smartest negotiators in the world. I know the good ones. I know the bad ones. I know the overrated ones.
You get a lot of them that are overrated. They’re not good. They think they are. They get good stories, because the newspapers get buffaloed. But they’re not good.
But I know the negotiators in the world, and I put them one for each country. Believe me, folks. We will do very, very well, very, very well.
But I wouldn’t even waste my time with this one. I would call up the head of Ford, who I know. If I was president, I’d say, “Congratulations. I understand that you’re building a nice $2.5 billion car factory in Mexico and that you’re going to take your cars and sell them to the United States zero tax, just flow them across the border.”
And you say to yourself, “How does that help us,” right? “How does that help us? Where is that good”? It’s not.
So I would say, “Congratulations. That’s the good news. Let me give you the bad news. Every car and every truck and every part manufactured in this plant that comes across the border, we’re going to charge you a 35-percent tax, and that tax is going to be paid simultaneously with the transaction, and that’s it.
Now, here’s what is going to happen. If it’s not me in the position, it’s one of these politicians that we’re running against, you know, the 400 people that we’re (inaudible). And here’s what’s going to happen. They’re not so stupid. They know it’s not a good thing, and they may even be upset by it. But then they’re going to get a call from the donors or probably from the lobbyist for Ford and say, “You can’t do that to Ford, because Ford takes care of me and I take care of you, and you can’t do that to Ford.”
And guess what? No problem. They’re going to build in Mexico. They’re going to take away thousands of jobs. It’s very bad for us.
So under President Trump, here’s what would happen:
The head of Ford will call me back, I would say within an hour after I told them the bad news. But it could be he’d want to be cool, and he’ll wait until the next day. You know, they want to be a little cool.
And he’ll say, “Please, please, please.” He’ll beg for a little while, and I’ll say, “No interest.” Then he’ll call all sorts of political people, and I’ll say, “Sorry, fellas. No interest,” because I don’t need anybody’s money. It’s nice. I don’t need anybody’s money.
I’m using my own money. I’m not using the lobbyists. I’m not using donors. I don’t care. I’m really rich. I (inaudible).
And by the way, I’m not even saying that’s the kind of mindset, that’s the kind of thinking you need for this country.
So— because we got to make the country rich.
It sounds crass. Somebody said, “Oh, that’s crass.” It’s not crass.
We got $18 trillion in debt. We got nothing but problems.
We got a military that needs equipment all over the place. We got nuclear weapons that are obsolete.
We’ve got nothing. We’ve got Social Security that’s going to be destroyed if somebody like me doesn’t bring money into the country. All these other people want to cut the hell out of it. I’m not going to cut it at all; I’m going to bring money in, and we’re going to save it.
But here’s what’s going to happen:
After I’m called by 30 friends of mine who contributed to different campaigns, after I’m called by all of the special interests and by the— the donors and by the lobbyists— and they have zero chance at convincing me, zero— I’ll get a call the next day from the head of Ford. He’ll say. “Please reconsider,” I’ll say no.
He’ll say, “Mr. President, we’ve decided to move the plant back to the United States, and we’re not going to build it in Mexico.” That’s it. They have no choice. They have no choice.
There are hundreds of things like that. I’ll give you another example.
Saudi Arabia, they make $1 billion a day. $1 billion a day. I love the Saudis. Many are in this building. They make a billion dollars a day. Whenever they have problems, we send over the ships. We say “we’re gonna protect.” What are we doing? They’ve got nothing but money.
If the right person asked them, they’d pay a fortune. They wouldn’t be there except for us.
And believe me, you look at the border with Yemen. You remember Obama a year ago, Yemen was a great victory. Two weeks later, the place was blown up. Everybody got out— and they kept our equipment.
They always keep our equipment. We ought to send used equipment, right? They always keep our equipment. We ought to send some real junk, because, frankly, it would be— we ought to send our surplus. We’re always losing this gorgeous brand-new stuff.
But look at that border with Saudi Arabia. Do you really think that these people are interested in Yemen? Saudi Arabia without us is gone. They’re gone.
And I’m the one that made all of the right predictions about Iraq. You know, all of these politicians that I’m running against now— it’s so nice to say I’m running as opposed to if I run, if I run. I’m running.
But all of these politicians that I’m running against now, they’re trying to disassociate. I mean, you looked at Bush, it took him five days to answer the question on Iraq. He couldn’t answer the question. He didn’t know. I said, “Is he intelligent?”
Then I looked at Rubio. He was unable to answer the question, is Iraq a good thing or bad thing? He didn’t know. He couldn’t answer the question.
How are these people gonna lead us? How are we gonna— how are we gonna go back and make it great again? We can’t. They don’t have a clue. They can’t lead us. They can’t. They can’t even answer simple questions. It was terrible.
But Saudi Arabia is in big, big trouble. Now, thanks to fracking and other things, the oil is all over the place. And I used to say it, there are ships at sea, and this was during the worst crisis, that were loaded up with oil, and the cartel kept the price up, because, again, they were smarter than our leaders. They were smarter than our leaders.
There is so much wealth out there that can make our country so rich again, and therefore make it great again. Because we need money. We’re dying. We’re dying. We need money. We have to do it. And we need the right people.
So Ford will come back. They’ll all come back. And I will say this, this is going to be an election, in my opinion, that’s based on competence.
Somebody said — thank you, darlin’.
Somebody said to me the other day, a reporter, a very nice reporter, “But, Mr. Trump, you’re not a nice person.”
That’s true. But actually I am. I think I am a nice person. People that know me, like me. Does my family like me? I think so, right. Look at my family. I’m proud of my family.
By the way, speaking of my family, Melania, Barron, Kai, Donnie, Don, Vanessa, Tiffany, Evanka did a great job. Did she do a great job?
Great. Jared, Laura and Eric, I’m very proud of my family. They’re a great family.
So the reporter said to me the other day, “But, Mr. Trump, you’re not a nice person. How can you get people to vote for you?”
I said, “I don’t know.” I said, “I think that number one, I am a nice person. I give a lot of money away to charities and other things. I think I’m actually a very nice person.”
But, I said, “This is going to be an election that’s based on competence, because people are tired of these nice people. And they’re tired of being ripped off by everybody in the world. And they’re tired of spending more money on education than any nation in the world per capita, than any nation in the world, and we are 26th in the world, 25 countries are better than us in education. And some of them are like third world countries. But we’re becoming a third word country, because of our infrastructure, our airports, our roads, everything. So one of the things I did, and I said, you know what I’ll do. I’ll do it. Because a lot of people said, “He’ll never run. Number one, he won’t want to give up his lifestyle.”
They’re right about that, but I’m doing it.
Number two, I’m a private company, so nobody knows what I’m worth. And the one thing is that when you run, you have to announce and certify to all sorts of governmental authorities your net worth.
So I said, “That’s OK.” I’m proud of my net worth. I’ve done an amazing job.
I started off— thank you— I started off in a small office with my father in Brooklyn and Queens, and my father said — and I love my father. I learned so much. He was a great negotiator. I learned so much just sitting at his feet playing with blocks listening to him negotiate with subcontractors. But I learned a lot.
But he used to say, “Donald, don’t go into Manhattan. That’s the big leagues. We don’t know anything about that. Don’t do it.”
I said, “I gotta go into Manhattan. I gotta build those big buildings. I gotta do it, Dad. I’ve gotta do it.”
And after four or five years in Brooklyn, I ventured into Manhattan and did a lot of great deals— the Grand Hyatt Hotel. I was responsible for the convention center on the west side. I did a lot of great deals, and I did them early and young. And now I’m building all over the world, and I love what I’m doing.
But they all said, a lot of the pundits on television, “Well, Donald will never run, and one of the main reasons is he’s private and he’s probably not as successful as everybody thinks.”
So I said to myself, you know, nobody’s ever going to know unless I run, because I’m really proud of my success. I really am.
I’ve employed— I’ve employed tens of thousands of people over my lifetime. That means medical. That means education. That means everything.
So a large accounting firm and my accountants have been working for months, because it’s big and complex, and they’ve put together a statement, a financial statement, just a summary. But everything will be filed eventually with the government, and we don’t [use] extensions or anything. We’ll be filing it right on time. We don’t need anything.
And it was even reported incorrectly yesterday, because they said, “He had assets of $9 billion.” So I said, “No, that’s the wrong number. That’s the wrong number. Not assets.”
So they put together this. And before I say it, I have to say this. I made it the old-fashioned way. It’s real estate. You know, it’s real estate.
It’s labor, and it’s unions good and some bad and lots of people that aren’t in unions, and it’s all over the place and building all over the world.
And I have assets— big accounting firm, one of the most highly respected— 9 billion 240 million dollars.
And I have liabilities of about $500 million. That’s long-term debt, very low interest rates.
In fact, one of the big banks came to me and said, “Donald, you don’t have enough borrowings. Could we loan you $4 billion”? I said, “I don’t need it. I don’t want it. And I’ve been there. I don’t want it.”
But in two seconds, they give me whatever I wanted. So I have a total net worth, and now with the increase, it’ll be well-over $10 billion. But here, a total net worth of—net worth, not assets, not— a net worth, after all debt, after all expenses, the greatest assets— Trump Tower, 1290 Avenue of the Americas, Bank of America building in San Francisco, 40 Wall Street, sometimes referred to as the Trump building right opposite the New York— many other places all over the world.
So the total is $8,737,540,00.
Now I’m not doing that…
I’m not doing that to brag, because you know what? I don’t have to brag. I don’t have to, believe it or not.
I’m doing that to say that that’s the kind of thinking our country needs. We need that thinking. We have the opposite thinking.
We have losers. We have losers. We have people that don’t have it. We have people that are morally corrupt. We have people that are selling this country down the drain.
So I put together this statement, and the only reason I’m telling you about it today is because we really do have to get going, because if we have another three or four years— you know, we’re at $8 trillion now. We’re soon going to be at $20 trillion.
According to the economists— who I’m not big believers in, but, nevertheless, this is what they’re saying— that $24 trillion— we’re very close— that’s the point of no return. $24 trillion. We will be there soon. That’s when we become Greece. That’s when we become a country that’s unsalvageable. And we’re gonna be there very soon. We’re gonna be there very soon.
So, just to sum up, I would do various things very quickly. I would repeal and replace the big lie, Obamacare.
I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall.
Mark my words.
Nobody would be tougher on ISIS than Donald Trump. Nobody.
I will find — within our military, I will find the General Patton or I will find General MacArthur, I will find the right guy. I will find the guy that’s going to take that military and make it really work. Nobody, nobody will be pushing us around.
I will stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons. And we won’t be using a man like Secretary Kerry that has absolutely no concept of negotiation, who’s making a horrible and laughable deal, who’s just being tapped along as they make weapons right now, and then goes into a bicycle race at 72 years old, and falls and breaks his leg. I won’t be doing that. And I promise I will never be in a bicycle race. That I can tell you.
I will immediately terminate President Obama’s illegal executive order on immigration, immediately.
Fully support and back up the Second Amendment.
Now, it’s very interesting. Today I heard it. Through stupidity, in a very, very hard core prison, interestingly named Clinton, two vicious murderers, two vicious people escaped, and nobody knows where they are. And a woman was on television this morning, and she said, “You know, Mr. Trump,” and she was telling other people, and I actually called her, and she said, “You know, Mr. Trump, I always was against guns. I didn’t want guns. And now since this happened”— it’s up in the prison area— “my husband and I are finally in agreement, because he wanted the guns. We now have a gun on every table. We’re ready to start shooting.”
I said, “Very interesting.”
So protect the Second Amendment.
End— end Common Core. Common Core should— it is a disaster. Bush is totally in favor of Common Core. I don’t see how he can possibly get the nomination. He’s weak on immigration. He’s in favor of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can’t do it. We have to end education has to be local.
Rebuild the country’s infrastructure.
Nobody can do that like me. Believe me. It will be done on time, on budget, way below cost, way below what anyone ever thought.
I look at the roads being built all over the country, and I say I can build those things for one-third. What they do is unbelievable, how bad.
You know, we’re building on Pennsylvania Avenue, the Old Post Office, we’re converting it into one of the world’s great hotels. It’s gonna be the best hotel in Washington, D.C. We got it from the General Services Administration in Washington. The Obama administration. We got it. It was the most highly sought after— or one of them, but I think the most highly sought after project in the history of General Services. We got it. People were shocked, Trump got it.
Well, I got it for two reasons. Number one, we’re really good. Number two, we had a really good plan. And I’ll add in the third, we had a great financial statement. Because the General Services, who are terrific people, by the way, and talented people, they wanted to do a great job. And they wanted to make sure it got built.
So we have to rebuild our infrastructure, our bridges, our roadways, our airports. You come into La Guardia Airport, it’s like we’re in a third world country. You look at the patches and the 40-year-old floor. They throw down asphalt, and they throw.
You look at these airports, we are like a third world country. And I come in from China and I come in from Qatar and I come in from different places, and they have the most incredible airports in the world. You come to back to this country and you have LAX, disaster. You have all of these disastrous airports. We have to rebuild our infrastructure.
Save Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security without cuts. Have to do it.
Get rid of the fraud. Get rid of the waste and abuse, but save it. People have been paying it for years. And now many of these candidates want to cut it. You save it by making the United States, by making us rich again, by taking back all of the money that’s being lost.
Renegotiate our foreign trade deals.
Reduce our $18 trillion in debt, because, believe me, we’re in a bubble. We have artificially low interest rates. We have a stock market that, frankly, has been good to me, but I still hate to see what’s happening. We have a stock market that is so bloated.
Be careful of a bubble because what you’ve seen in the past might be small potatoes compared to what happens. So be very, very careful.
And strengthen our military and take care of our vets. So, so important.
Sadly, the American dream is dead.
But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before, and we will make America great again.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Speech #2
Testimony to the Senate (1999)
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Hearing on Parkinson’s Research and Treatment
September 28, 1999
The Testimony of Michael J. Fox
Arlen Specter: We turn now to our second panel: Mr. Michael J. Fox, Mr. James Cordy, Dr. J. William Langston and Ms. Joan Samuelson. If you lady and gentlemen will step forward we will proceed with the testimony.
We welcome you all here. Ms. Samuelson is President of the Parkinson’s Action Network, and very active in promoting funding, and Dr. Langston is the President of the Parkinson’s Institute, and a renowned expert in the field, Mr. James Cordy (where’s your hourglass, Jim?) has been an extraordinarily effective advocate in the field, and as I noted earlier we have with us today Mr. Michael J. Fox, a successful actor for many years, first as Alex P. Keaton on the television series “Family Ties”–you always work with a middle initial, don’t you Mr. Fox?–later in many movies, including Back to the Future, and most recently on television again on the highly acclaimed “Spin City.”
Michael was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991 at the age of 30, and has become very, very active in Parkinson’s advocacy. And one of the facts of life is that when someone like Michael J. Fox steps forward, it very heavily personalizes the problem, focuses a lot of public attention on it, and has the public understanding of the need for doing whatever we can as a country to conquer this disease and many, many others. So we thank you for being here Michael J. Fox, and look forward to your testimony. Again we’ll put the lights on at five minutes on testimony.
Mr. Fox, we’re going to start with you.
Michael J. Fox: Mr. Chairman, members of the Subcommittee–excuse me, [pauses to pull the microphone down to his level] –the story of my life! The mike is always too high. Mr. Chairman, members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to testify today about the need for greater federal investment in Parkinson’s research. Some, or perhaps all of you, most of you, are familiar with me from my work in film and television. What I wish to speak to you about today has little or nothing to do with celebrity, save for this brief reference.
When I first spoke publicly about my eight years of experience as a person with Parkinson’s many were surprised, in part because of my age, although 30% of all Parkinson’s patients are under 50, 20% are under 40, and that number is growing.
I had hidden my symptoms and struggles very well, through increasing amounts of medication, through surgery and by employing the hundreds of little tricks and techniques a person with Parkinson’s learns to mask his or her condition for as long as possible. While the changes in my life were profound and progressive, I kept them to myself for a number of reasons: fear, denial for sure, but I also felt that it was important for me to just quietly “soldier on.” When I did share my story the response was overwhelming, humbling and deeply inspiring. I heard from thousands of Americans affected by Parkinson’s, writing and calling to offer encouragement and to tell me of their experience. They spoke of pain, frustration, fear and hope. Always hope.
What I understood very clearly is that the time for “quietly soldiering on” is through. The war against Parkinson’s is a winnable war and I have resolved to play a role in that victory. What celebrity has given me is the opportunity to raise the visibility of Parkinson’s disease and focus attention on the desperate need for more research dollars. While I am able for the time being to continue doing what I love best, others are not so fortunate. These are doctors, teachers, policemen, nurses, as you had indicated earlier, legislators, and parents who are no longer able to work to provide for their families and live out their dreams.
The one million Americans living with Parkinson’s want to beat this disease. So do the millions more Americans who have family members suffering from Parkinson’s but it won’t happen until Congress adequately funds Parkinson’s research.
For many people with Parkinson’s, managing their disease is a full-time job; it is a constant balancing act. Too little medicine causes tremors and stiffness, too much medicine produces uncontrollable movement and slurring, and far too often Parkinson’s patients wait and wait (as I am right now) for their medicines to kick in.
New investigational therapies have helped some people like me control symptoms, but in the end we all face the same reality: the medicine stops working. For people living with Parkinson’s the status quo is not good enough. As I began to understand what research might promise for the future I became hopeful that I would not face the terrible suffering so many with Parkinson’s endure. But I was shocked and frustrated to learn the amount of funding for Parkinson’s research is so meager. Compared with the amount of federal funding going to other diseases, research funding for Parkinson’s lags far behind. In a country with a $15 billion investment in medical research we can and must do better.
At present Parkinson’s is inadequately funded, no matter how one cares to spin it. Meager funding means a continued lack of effective treatments, slow progress in understanding the cause of the disease and little chance that a cure will come in time. I applaud the steps we are taking to fulfill the promise of the Udall Parkinson’s Research Act, but we must be clear we aren’t there yet.
If, however, an adequate investment is made there is much to be hopeful for. We have a tremendous opportunity to close the gap for Parkinson’s. We are learning more and more about this disease. The scientific community believes that with a significant investment in Parkinson’s research new discoveries and improved treatment strategies are close at hand. Many have called Parkinson’s the most curable neurological disorder, and the one expected to produce a breakthrough first. Scientists tell me that a cure is possible, some say even by the end of the next decade, if the research dollars match the research opportunity.
Mr. Chairman, you and the members of the Subcommittee have done so much to increase the investment in medical research in this country. I thank you for your vision. Most people don’t know just how important this research is until they or someone in their family faces a serious illness. I know I didn’t. The Parkinson’s community strongly supports your efforts to double medical research funding. At the same time, I implore you to do more for people with Parkinson’s. Take up Parkinson’s as if your life depended on it. Increase funding for Parkinson’s research by $75 million over the current levels for the coming fiscal year. Make this a down payment for a fully funded Parkinson’s research agenda that will make Parkinson’s nothing more than a footnote in medical textbooks.
(Turning pages isn’t always easy!) I would like to close on a personal note. Today you will hear from, or have already heard from, more than a few experts, in the fields of science, bookkeeping, other areas. I am an expert in only one: what it is like to be a young man, husband and father, with Parkinson’s disease. With the help of daily medication and selective exertion I can still perform my job, in my case in a very public arena. I can still help out with the daily tasks and rituals involved in home life, but I don’t kid myself; that will change.
Physical and mental exhaustion will become more and more of a factor, as will increased rigidity, tremor and dyskinesia. I can expect in my forties to face challenges most won’t expect until their seventies or eighties, if ever. But with your help, if we all do everything we can to eradicate this disease, in my fifties I’ll be dancing at my children’s weddings. And mine will be one of millions of happy stories. Thank you for your time and attention.
Arlen Specter: Thank you very much Mr. Fox for those very profound and moving words.
Testimony to the Senate (1999)
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Hearing on Parkinson’s Research and Treatment
September 28, 1999
The Testimony of Michael J. Fox
Arlen Specter: We turn now to our second panel: Mr. Michael J. Fox, Mr. James Cordy, Dr. J. William Langston and Ms. Joan Samuelson. If you lady and gentlemen will step forward we will proceed with the testimony.
We welcome you all here. Ms. Samuelson is President of the Parkinson’s Action Network, and very active in promoting funding, and Dr. Langston is the President of the Parkinson’s Institute, and a renowned expert in the field, Mr. James Cordy (where’s your hourglass, Jim?) has been an extraordinarily effective advocate in the field, and as I noted earlier we have with us today Mr. Michael J. Fox, a successful actor for many years, first as Alex P. Keaton on the television series “Family Ties”–you always work with a middle initial, don’t you Mr. Fox?–later in many movies, including Back to the Future, and most recently on television again on the highly acclaimed “Spin City.”
Michael was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991 at the age of 30, and has become very, very active in Parkinson’s advocacy. And one of the facts of life is that when someone like Michael J. Fox steps forward, it very heavily personalizes the problem, focuses a lot of public attention on it, and has the public understanding of the need for doing whatever we can as a country to conquer this disease and many, many others. So we thank you for being here Michael J. Fox, and look forward to your testimony. Again we’ll put the lights on at five minutes on testimony.
Mr. Fox, we’re going to start with you.
Michael J. Fox: Mr. Chairman, members of the Subcommittee–excuse me, [pauses to pull the microphone down to his level] –the story of my life! The mike is always too high. Mr. Chairman, members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to testify today about the need for greater federal investment in Parkinson’s research. Some, or perhaps all of you, most of you, are familiar with me from my work in film and television. What I wish to speak to you about today has little or nothing to do with celebrity, save for this brief reference.
When I first spoke publicly about my eight years of experience as a person with Parkinson’s many were surprised, in part because of my age, although 30% of all Parkinson’s patients are under 50, 20% are under 40, and that number is growing.
I had hidden my symptoms and struggles very well, through increasing amounts of medication, through surgery and by employing the hundreds of little tricks and techniques a person with Parkinson’s learns to mask his or her condition for as long as possible. While the changes in my life were profound and progressive, I kept them to myself for a number of reasons: fear, denial for sure, but I also felt that it was important for me to just quietly “soldier on.” When I did share my story the response was overwhelming, humbling and deeply inspiring. I heard from thousands of Americans affected by Parkinson’s, writing and calling to offer encouragement and to tell me of their experience. They spoke of pain, frustration, fear and hope. Always hope.
What I understood very clearly is that the time for “quietly soldiering on” is through. The war against Parkinson’s is a winnable war and I have resolved to play a role in that victory. What celebrity has given me is the opportunity to raise the visibility of Parkinson’s disease and focus attention on the desperate need for more research dollars. While I am able for the time being to continue doing what I love best, others are not so fortunate. These are doctors, teachers, policemen, nurses, as you had indicated earlier, legislators, and parents who are no longer able to work to provide for their families and live out their dreams.
The one million Americans living with Parkinson’s want to beat this disease. So do the millions more Americans who have family members suffering from Parkinson’s but it won’t happen until Congress adequately funds Parkinson’s research.
For many people with Parkinson’s, managing their disease is a full-time job; it is a constant balancing act. Too little medicine causes tremors and stiffness, too much medicine produces uncontrollable movement and slurring, and far too often Parkinson’s patients wait and wait (as I am right now) for their medicines to kick in.
New investigational therapies have helped some people like me control symptoms, but in the end we all face the same reality: the medicine stops working. For people living with Parkinson’s the status quo is not good enough. As I began to understand what research might promise for the future I became hopeful that I would not face the terrible suffering so many with Parkinson’s endure. But I was shocked and frustrated to learn the amount of funding for Parkinson’s research is so meager. Compared with the amount of federal funding going to other diseases, research funding for Parkinson’s lags far behind. In a country with a $15 billion investment in medical research we can and must do better.
At present Parkinson’s is inadequately funded, no matter how one cares to spin it. Meager funding means a continued lack of effective treatments, slow progress in understanding the cause of the disease and little chance that a cure will come in time. I applaud the steps we are taking to fulfill the promise of the Udall Parkinson’s Research Act, but we must be clear we aren’t there yet.
If, however, an adequate investment is made there is much to be hopeful for. We have a tremendous opportunity to close the gap for Parkinson’s. We are learning more and more about this disease. The scientific community believes that with a significant investment in Parkinson’s research new discoveries and improved treatment strategies are close at hand. Many have called Parkinson’s the most curable neurological disorder, and the one expected to produce a breakthrough first. Scientists tell me that a cure is possible, some say even by the end of the next decade, if the research dollars match the research opportunity.
Mr. Chairman, you and the members of the Subcommittee have done so much to increase the investment in medical research in this country. I thank you for your vision. Most people don’t know just how important this research is until they or someone in their family faces a serious illness. I know I didn’t. The Parkinson’s community strongly supports your efforts to double medical research funding. At the same time, I implore you to do more for people with Parkinson’s. Take up Parkinson’s as if your life depended on it. Increase funding for Parkinson’s research by $75 million over the current levels for the coming fiscal year. Make this a down payment for a fully funded Parkinson’s research agenda that will make Parkinson’s nothing more than a footnote in medical textbooks.
(Turning pages isn’t always easy!) I would like to close on a personal note. Today you will hear from, or have already heard from, more than a few experts, in the fields of science, bookkeeping, other areas. I am an expert in only one: what it is like to be a young man, husband and father, with Parkinson’s disease. With the help of daily medication and selective exertion I can still perform my job, in my case in a very public arena. I can still help out with the daily tasks and rituals involved in home life, but I don’t kid myself; that will change.
Physical and mental exhaustion will become more and more of a factor, as will increased rigidity, tremor and dyskinesia. I can expect in my forties to face challenges most won’t expect until their seventies or eighties, if ever. But with your help, if we all do everything we can to eradicate this disease, in my fifties I’ll be dancing at my children’s weddings. And mine will be one of millions of happy stories. Thank you for your time and attention.
Arlen Specter: Thank you very much Mr. Fox for those very profound and moving words.
When you read an argument that you are being asked to analyze, consider the following:
The Writer's Purpose: Is it stated directly or implied? Is it to convince or to encourage action? Is it emotion or logic driven? Is there a hidden agenda?
The Writer's Audience: Who is the intended audience? Does the writer view the audience as friendly, hostile, or neutral? What values does the writer think the audience holds? Does the writer see the audience as informed or uninformed?
The Topic: What is the topic of argument? Why is the writer addressing this topic? Is the argument developed fully?
The Context: What situation(s) set the stage for the argument?
What social, political, and cultural events triggered the argument?
What historical references situate this argument in a particular place or time?
Means of Persuasion: The most effective arguments combine (at least 2 of the following): logos (appeal to logic), pathos (appeal to emotion), and ethos (appeal to authority). What means does the writer use?
1. The Thesis: The position that the argument support? Why is it stated the way it is? How effective is the placement of the thesis?
2. Organization: How the writer arranges the ideas. Is there a refutation of opposing ideas?
3. Evidence: Any thesis must be supported with evidence- facts, observations, expert opinions, etc. Historical and personal examples are often included.
4. Stylistic Techniques: It isn't enough just to make your argument-- you must make your argument memorable. Here are some techniques for doing so.
--Simile (figure of speech that compares two unlike things using like or as).
--Metaphor (comparison in which two dissimilar things are compared without the word like or as).
--Allusion (a reference within a literary work to another work-- a connection.)
--Parallelism (use of similar structure in the repetition of pairs or series of words, phrases, or clauses that emphasizes related ideas and makes the passage easier to follow).
--Repetition (Repeating a word or phrase carefully for emphasis, clarity, or effect.)
[Example is Obama's inauguration speech; he continually repeated the phrase, "we, the people."]
--Rhetorical Questions (a question asked to encourage readers to reflect on an issue, not call for a reply).
Finally, you must assess the effectiveness of the argument. Is it persuasive? Has the author achieved his or her purpose?
Review ETHOS, LOGOS, & PATHOS.
On that note, there are seven different types of emotional appeals:
Also review all of your FALLACIES.
Including:
Bandwagon, Ad Hominem, Slippery Slope, Hasty Generalization, Begging the Question, Circular Reasoning, Etc.
Review the following website on Tone & Mood:
http://ourenglishclass.net/class-notes/writing/the-writing-process/craft/tone-and-mood/
MLA Citation Format:
Know how to format INTERNAL citations AND bibliographic citations. Look on this website for samples of internal citation and citation format of film reviews, articles, books... (this info. is also in your textbook).
Keep your handouts from the documentary film presentations. Review them before the exam.
Review "the forever 27 club"-- and all other assignments we did this semester.
The Writer's Purpose: Is it stated directly or implied? Is it to convince or to encourage action? Is it emotion or logic driven? Is there a hidden agenda?
The Writer's Audience: Who is the intended audience? Does the writer view the audience as friendly, hostile, or neutral? What values does the writer think the audience holds? Does the writer see the audience as informed or uninformed?
The Topic: What is the topic of argument? Why is the writer addressing this topic? Is the argument developed fully?
The Context: What situation(s) set the stage for the argument?
What social, political, and cultural events triggered the argument?
What historical references situate this argument in a particular place or time?
Means of Persuasion: The most effective arguments combine (at least 2 of the following): logos (appeal to logic), pathos (appeal to emotion), and ethos (appeal to authority). What means does the writer use?
1. The Thesis: The position that the argument support? Why is it stated the way it is? How effective is the placement of the thesis?
2. Organization: How the writer arranges the ideas. Is there a refutation of opposing ideas?
3. Evidence: Any thesis must be supported with evidence- facts, observations, expert opinions, etc. Historical and personal examples are often included.
4. Stylistic Techniques: It isn't enough just to make your argument-- you must make your argument memorable. Here are some techniques for doing so.
--Simile (figure of speech that compares two unlike things using like or as).
--Metaphor (comparison in which two dissimilar things are compared without the word like or as).
--Allusion (a reference within a literary work to another work-- a connection.)
--Parallelism (use of similar structure in the repetition of pairs or series of words, phrases, or clauses that emphasizes related ideas and makes the passage easier to follow).
--Repetition (Repeating a word or phrase carefully for emphasis, clarity, or effect.)
[Example is Obama's inauguration speech; he continually repeated the phrase, "we, the people."]
--Rhetorical Questions (a question asked to encourage readers to reflect on an issue, not call for a reply).
Finally, you must assess the effectiveness of the argument. Is it persuasive? Has the author achieved his or her purpose?
Review ETHOS, LOGOS, & PATHOS.
On that note, there are seven different types of emotional appeals:
- Appeal to self-esteem An approach that manipulates our need to feel good about ourselves.
- Appeal to social fears An approach that carries an implied threat of ostracism or social rejection.
- Appeal to authority or experts An approach whene an authority figure is quoted or used to prove a point. People often quote people who are not really an authority (I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV.)
- Appeal to Pity An approach in which a person attempts to persuade you to do or buy something because he or she will be hurt if you don't agree.
- Appeal to force An approach in which a person attempts to persuade you to do or buy something because he or she will hurt you if you don't agree.
- Plainfolks This approach is based on the similarity principle. If you think the persuader is "like you," "just one of the guys," or "regular folk," you will be persuaded more easily.
- Associations This occurs when a persuader uses a positive symbol to endorse the product he or she wants you to buy.
Also review all of your FALLACIES.
Including:
Bandwagon, Ad Hominem, Slippery Slope, Hasty Generalization, Begging the Question, Circular Reasoning, Etc.
Review the following website on Tone & Mood:
http://ourenglishclass.net/class-notes/writing/the-writing-process/craft/tone-and-mood/
MLA Citation Format:
Know how to format INTERNAL citations AND bibliographic citations. Look on this website for samples of internal citation and citation format of film reviews, articles, books... (this info. is also in your textbook).
Keep your handouts from the documentary film presentations. Review them before the exam.
Review "the forever 27 club"-- and all other assignments we did this semester.
FINAL EMAIL:
Scholars:
I just wanted to recap what we went over in class about the final exam.
Everyone must sit for the final exam in all courses. Your exam is worth 100 points, and you can find out more information about it on Weebly. All you will need to take the exam is a pencil.
After the exam, you will be asked to look over your research paper and presentation grade sheets. I will likely be able to grade your final while you wait. Any questions/concerns about grading should be addressed before you leave class tomorrow, as I am submitting grades tomorrow afternoon.
If anyone would like to volunteer to bring donuts to the final, "reply all" to the email and let your classmates know. I'm sure we can all chip in to offset the cost.
The end of the semester is always bittersweet for me. I have invested in all of you, and I wish you all nothing but the best going forward. If you ever need a letter of recommendation or have any questions about writing or literature, you can always send me an email.
I know this wasn't a literature class, but I would love to point you in the direction of GREAT reading. Don't graduate from college without having read some Tennessee Williams, Poe, Whitman, and Rimbaud. When you are really ready to exit the cave, pick up some Socrates (via Plato); I highly recommend The Symposium. The Tony Award-winning musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch is inspired by that book; it is deeply philosophical and eye-opening. Also, pick up some Homer (The Iliad) and some Chaucer (The Pardoner's Tale)... those are some rich, ripe, sweet apples.
Most literature has some value, so never be shy about showing your excitement for a book. The Fault in Our Stars, for example, can be a profound introduction to the philosophy of existentialism, and Twilight can inspire a great discussion on the evolution of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
And when you are asked to write papers, never let yourself get overwhelmed. Remember the tools that you have been given this summer; keep challenging yourself to "write outside the box". The more you write, the more you will improve.
You each have a unique, beautiful brain. Take every opportunity you are given to "make something new"-- create & leave your mark. Not everyone will understand or appreciate your mark, but make it anyway; someone will.
Thank you all for making this an enjoyable summer session!
Sincerely,
Hollie Domingue
Mom to Claire, Reece, & Lennon
"Either I do not corrupt the youth, or if I do, it is unwillingly." -Socrates
Scholars:
I just wanted to recap what we went over in class about the final exam.
Everyone must sit for the final exam in all courses. Your exam is worth 100 points, and you can find out more information about it on Weebly. All you will need to take the exam is a pencil.
After the exam, you will be asked to look over your research paper and presentation grade sheets. I will likely be able to grade your final while you wait. Any questions/concerns about grading should be addressed before you leave class tomorrow, as I am submitting grades tomorrow afternoon.
If anyone would like to volunteer to bring donuts to the final, "reply all" to the email and let your classmates know. I'm sure we can all chip in to offset the cost.
The end of the semester is always bittersweet for me. I have invested in all of you, and I wish you all nothing but the best going forward. If you ever need a letter of recommendation or have any questions about writing or literature, you can always send me an email.
I know this wasn't a literature class, but I would love to point you in the direction of GREAT reading. Don't graduate from college without having read some Tennessee Williams, Poe, Whitman, and Rimbaud. When you are really ready to exit the cave, pick up some Socrates (via Plato); I highly recommend The Symposium. The Tony Award-winning musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch is inspired by that book; it is deeply philosophical and eye-opening. Also, pick up some Homer (The Iliad) and some Chaucer (The Pardoner's Tale)... those are some rich, ripe, sweet apples.
Most literature has some value, so never be shy about showing your excitement for a book. The Fault in Our Stars, for example, can be a profound introduction to the philosophy of existentialism, and Twilight can inspire a great discussion on the evolution of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
And when you are asked to write papers, never let yourself get overwhelmed. Remember the tools that you have been given this summer; keep challenging yourself to "write outside the box". The more you write, the more you will improve.
You each have a unique, beautiful brain. Take every opportunity you are given to "make something new"-- create & leave your mark. Not everyone will understand or appreciate your mark, but make it anyway; someone will.
Thank you all for making this an enjoyable summer session!
Sincerely,
Hollie Domingue
Mom to Claire, Reece, & Lennon
"Either I do not corrupt the youth, or if I do, it is unwillingly." -Socrates