B2 – Upper Intermediate
It is common for voters to feel a personal connection to the highest leader of their country. This personal connection is comparable to that of a close family member. This is why when voters choose their candidate, they also take into account the parenting skills of their chosen president-to-be. The public image of the candidate’s children could be as significant as theirs in the voters’ eyes.
Let’s read the article and know more about some notable presidential children and how their image affected their presidential parent’s political image.
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “reviled” mean? “As a historian of the American presidency, I see the case of Hunter Biden as a revealing indicator of the ways that presidential children have figured in American public life, whether they were beloved or reviled.” Give 2 synonyms and use “reviled” in a sentence.
- Define “rough-and-tumble“. “The assumption that young children should be free from the political rough-and-tumble has recently made them highly effective symbols for presidential image-making.” Use this idiom in your own sentence.
- What is the meaning of the phrasal verb “harken back“? “His approach harkened back to the 19th century, when presidents appointed their adult sons to office while young children rarely appeared in public. ” Use it in a sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- Who is Hunter Biden and what are his legal troubles?
- How do presidential children affect their parent’s likelihood of winning/losing in an election?
- In your opinion, is it fair for the immediate family members of politicians to have their private lives on public display? Why or why not?
- How can this relationship result to nepotism? Is nepotism at this level common in your country?
- Talk about a controversial presidential child that you know of.
4 replies on “Presidential Children and the White House Reputation”
What does “reviled” mean? “As a historian of the American presidency, I see the case of Hunter Biden as a revealing indicator of the ways that presidential children have figured in American public life, whether they were beloved or reviled.” Give 2 synonyms and use “reviled” in a sentence.
Disdained and vilified could be synonyms.
Sentence: the defendant was reviled vilified prior to trial.
2. Define “rough-and-tumble“. “The assumption that young children should be free from the political rough-and-tumble has recently made them highly effective symbols for presidential image-making.” Use this idiom in your own sentence.
The incident created rough and tumble between the two brothers.
3. What is the meaning of the phrasal verb “harken back“? “His approach harkened back to the 19th century, when presidents appointed their adult sons to office while young children rarely appeared in public. ” Use it in a sentence.
The incident harken back to the last year when the two brothers discussed about their aunt’s legacy.
Great job working on the vocabulary exercise.
See how this sentence can be written a bit better:
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Discussion Questions:
1. Who is Hunter Biden and what are his legal troubles?
Hunter is the son of the president of the United States. He is in trouble for alleged drug abuse, purchase of a gun, lies about this, and shady businesses that took advantage of his father’s position and relevance.
2. How do presidential children affect their parent’s likelihood of winning/losing in an election?
It’s difficult to say but in some cases can help, for example given them a kind of familiar charm, sometimes also showing them as normal parents. But in some cases, also can be a problem for them and Hunter Biden is one example for Joe Biden.
3. In your opinion, is it fair for the immediate family members of politicians to have their private lives on public display? Why or why not?
It’s absolutely unfair, they should live their lives without the influence of his parent’s jobs, but, to be fair, it’s almost imposible if your parents are running for the Presidency, or worst, if is the President elected.
4. How can this relationship result to nepotism? Is nepotism at this level common in your country?
It is very easy to cross the red lines and involve your sons of familiar or friend given them a privilege treatment.
In our Country nepotism is a crime, so it not possible to see nepotism in the high level members of Power, but sometime occurs, about all, in the immediate below levels of power (p.e. Town Halls, Administration, etc.)
5. Talk about a controversial presidential child that you know of.
Well, it is an anecdote a kind of gossip: in the presidency of Zapatero (Spanish President from 2003 to 2011) he made and State Visit to the USA (at that time Barak Obama was the USA President). Until this visit nobody knows anything about the life of her two daughters… nobody knows either how they looked like… until… they visited the Obamas in the White House and Zapatero brought their daughters. Logically the press took photos of this meeting… and suddenly everyone knew them, and how they looked like… and it was amazing because they were both dressed in a very bizarre gothic way, completely inappropriate… In Spain this was the News of the year and everyone laughed at it… for a long time…
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