inauguration day : /
new u.s. president donald trump’s personality and the rhetoric (speaking style) he used during his campaign is worrisome (causes anxiety, worry) for people around the world, certainly for folks here in mexico.
fun esl practice 
richyrocks english on youtube
trevor noah, host of the daily show recently elaborated on how trump is prone to (has the tendency) make outrageous (extravagant, incredible) statements to catch his supporters’ attention, but later, or at times almost simultaneously, he gives hints (clues, indications) that his rhetoric is just for show (not real, fake).
noah says the trump campaign’s
central appeal was that he was an outsider. a man whose main mission was to drain the swamp. he said it all the time. he was going to get rid of lobbyists. and get rid of wall street money. and give d.c. back to the people. but “truth trump” tells it like it is.
appeal refers to what people like, what is attractive. drain means remove all the water. it is widely believed that washington d.c. was built on a swamp (uncultivated wetland) which often makes for humorous commentary on the ethics and abilities of the politicians who live and work there.
in the shrek movies, shrek lives in a swamp.
it’s probably just an ironic legend though. yesterday the washington post ran a headline that said
Washington, D.C., was not actually built on a swamp
nevertheless, when trump said he was going to drain the swamp, it was understood he wants to get rid of (eliminate, fire) lobbyists (professionals who work to influence legislation) and other ineffective, unproductive and corrupt officials in the capital. give back is return, d.c. is an abbreviated form of washington d.c. and tell it like it is means to speak directly, tell the truth.
tell it like it is is also the title of a soul music standard that asks for honesty in a relationship. this version is by etta james
the daily show video contains footage (a video clip) of a speech trump gave in des moines. iowa last month (starts at :17) where he expressed surprise that “drain the swamp” caught on (became popular). he thought it was too hokey (corny, sentimental). but after he saw that people were connecting with the phrase he started saying it like he meant it (with conviction). this is the truth trump that noah was talking about.
trump told iowans he thought “drain the swamp” was too hokey to catch on. (canadafreepress.com)
noah is frustrated with how gullible (naive, easily tricked) trump supporters are. he observes that
[trump] is like a magician telling everyone how he did the trick, and still some people are like, “wow, magic!”
the first like here is to compare. the second is an informal way to introduce dialogue.
do u agree that trump fans are gullible?
the vid analyzed above is an excerpt of a longer daily show segment. u can watch the whole thing here.
is a trump presidency worrisome for u? do u believe he will significantly change the u.s. and its relationships with the rest of the world? share your opinions under leave a reply
