Front Page Talking Points

FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 01, 2017

Symbolic benchmark: President Trump and others look at his first 100 days in office

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1.gifShare a vivid sentence or paragraph from a news article or commentary about the president's weekend rally.

2.gifRead coverage of a domestic or foreign issue he's involved in and tell what you learn.

3.gifExplain why you would or wouldn't want to be a White House correspondent now.

A president's first 100 days in office have a symbolic role that shapes impressions of a new administration's tone, priorities, relations with Congress and image in the news media. It's seen as an important time to push a policy agenda forward and to score early successes. President Trump marked his 100th day Saturday with a rally in Harrisburg, Pa. Bashing journalists was part of his message. "Their priorities are not my priorities, and not your priorities," the Republican president told supporters, many in red Make America Great Again caps. "If the media's job is to be honest and tell the truth, the media deserves a very, very big fat failing grade."

Among early successes are the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, who's widely admired. At the same time, Trump has "record-low approval ratings and no major legislative accomplishment," an authoritative Washington news site, Politico, posted two days before Day 100. "Nothing hit Trump harder, according to senior White House officials, than the congressional defeat of his first major legislative package—the bill to repeal Obamacare," adds the post, referring to the Affordable Care Act, signed in 2010 by the last president. In fact, Trump hasn't gotten anything on his wish list through Congress yet. Separately, courts have blocked his efforts to ban immigrants from some Muslim-majority countries.

"Presidential historians and White House veterans say Trump has had one of the least productive first 100 days in office of any modern president,” writes Washington bureau chief Susan Page of USA Today. 'And there's little dispute that he’s had the most tumultuous one." But 84 percent of voters who backed him last November say Trump is keeping most campaign promises, a Washington Post-ABC News poll showed last week. “The president has us heading in the right direction," says Dr. Joseph Chiaro of Cheyenne, Wyo. "I had my hesitations about him, but they quickly disappeared once he took office."

Voter says: "So far, I'm glad I voted for him. I wasn't so sure for a while, but now I am." -- Joe Vigue, New Hampshire military veteran

White House says: "When you look at the totality of what he has done, it's unbelievable." – Sean Spicer, presidential press secretary

Comedian says: "I gotta say, Donald Trump has done a lot for me in the first 100 days." — Stephen Colbert, "The Late Show," CBS

Front Page Talking Points is written by Alan Stamm for NIEonline.com, Copyright 2024

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Common Core State Standard
SL.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: An essay of a current news event is provided for discussion to encourage participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the article. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event within the news, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.