GWB 184 UCI Media Writing United States Presidential Elections Discussion Please be sure to carefully review the instructions and guidance. Take your time

GWB 184 UCI Media Writing United States Presidential Elections Discussion Please be sure to carefully review the instructions and guidance. Take your time writing and review your work before submitting it. Before composing the lead, decide what is the single most important event that has occurred. Start the lead with that news. The rest of the story should incorporate other newsworthy facts. Be selective in what you include and exclude. Your story will be published on the same day that you write it. Media Writing Midterm
Instructions: Write a news story that is between 650 and 750
words. The news is quite significant and would be historical. Your
first challenge is composing the best lead possible. It should
immediately convey what has happened.
There are two parts to the story: the president’s announcement
and the question-and-answer press conference that occurs
immediately after Trump has finished delivering his statement. Be
sure to make clear if what the president says is contained in his
statement or was spoken during the press conference. Additional
guidance is below
You are a Washington, DC-based reporter for an online news
service called Dateline America.
For purposes of the exam, we will pretend that today is August
17, 2020. Joe Biden is the Democratic presidential candidate,
and polls show him with a double-digit lead over Donald Trump in
all voter preference polls conducted in the last two months.
At a little past 2 pm, you receive a text message from the White
House advising you that President Trump will announce to the
press a major decision. You arrive at the White House press
briefing room at 2:45, and a few minutes later President Donald
Trump steps to the podium. His statement, which you can quote
as you deem useful, follows. Of course, you may paraphrase so
long as you attribute the source.
Good afternoon. I have a few announcements to make. Now, I
know that most of you here today did not believe I would be
elected president. My election made all of you in the fake news
media angry because I proved you wrong. That anger caused you
to go negative on me, always producing stories about what a
terrible president I was.
But the American people didn’t believe the fake news; they saw
from the very start that I am president who gets things done. And
I fix what’s broken. The American people know I have been
among the very best American presidents.
The more I succeeded, the madder the Democrats got. So, they
held their so-called impeachment. Again, the American people
were not fooled. They knew this phony trial was an attempt to
overturn the 2016 election. But the Republican Party stood strong
and alongside the American people. The result is that Democrats
were made to look stupid and out of touch with Americans.
When Americans looked to me for leadership, especially in the
coronavirus crisis, I was there for them. I have been an outstanding
leader all the time. No matter what anti-Americans say, we have
pretty much beat the virus. It will soon disappear. So, my
accomplishments really can’t be questioned. I repeat that because
it’s true and important to remember.
Everyone knows that when I became president, the country was
in terrible shape. Illegal immigration was out of control, the
military was outdated; it had too few weapons. A whole bunch of
foreign countries, like China, were stepping all over us. Things
changed for the better when I came in. My success as a business
leader allowed me to fix all that was broken.
When America got walloped by the pandemic, I gathered the
many bright and amazing people who helped me lead the
response. Those were dark days when we had the virus killing so
many people and nearly wrecking the economy. I was happy to
save the nation, but it was an effort that took a lot out of me.
In the last few days, I started to realize that I have accomplished
all my goals as president. That made me think about my re-
election. I decided that I got the job done and don’t need to keep
doing what I’ve done for nearly four years.
So, I will be resigning from the position of president of the United
States, effective tomorrow. Our very capable vice president, Mike
Pence will be sworn in as president.
I will no longer be the presidential candidate of the Republican
Party. It’s not up to me to decide who the candidate will be, but I
would urge the party leaders to name Mike. He’s done a fantastic
job as vice president. Mike will be taking the reins from me and
so he naturally should continue as president next year and
beyond. But, again, it’s up to the party to decide who will be the
candidate.
Being president cost me a great deal of money because I could
not run my many lucrative businesses. But that’s okay because I
had the honor of serving my country and its wonderful people. It’s
now time for me to get back to running my businesses. I expect to
remain politically active as a private citizen.
What follows is a press conference. A Q signifies a question and
an A indicates Trump’s response.
Q: Did the fact that polls show you far behind Joe Biden play a
role in your decision?
A: Haven’t you been paying attention? I just told you and
everyone else why I am resigning. That’s the answer to that
rather nasty question.
Q: Did you brief anyone about your decision?
A: Naturally, I talked to Senate Leader Mitch McConnell and the
House Minority Leader Mike McCarthy. I also let a few senior
White House staffers know earlier today. I gotta say, they all tried
hard to talk me out of leaving.
Q: Was there a reason you did not wait until after the election to
resign?
A: Boy, another nasty question. I sure won’t miss dealing with the
fake media. I just decided now was the right time for me to leave.
To be extra clear, I have no doubt I was going to be re-elected. I
would have won very easily. It would have been a landslide
victory.
Q. More than 3 million Americans have contracted the virus, and
nearly 180,000 have died after being infected. How can you say
the pandemic has been defeated?
A. First of all, I never said we had wiped out the disease. What I
am saying is that we have taken control of it. And that’s a victory
for which I am very proud. Again, the virus is slowly fading away.
Q: Will your daughter Ivanka Trump and your son-in-law Jared
Kushner continue to serve in their White House positions?
A: I really hope so. Just look at the fantastic work they’re doing.
But, you know, it’s Mike’s call whether to keep them on or not. He
would be foolish not to keep them right where they are. But, as I
said, it’s up to Mike.
Q: What will you miss most about being president?
A: I’ll greatly miss waking up every day knowing that I will be
helping Americans. Also, I’ll miss the fantastic people, the many
public servants, devoted to making America so very great. We’re
the envy of the world. I helped make that happen.
Q: I’d like to return to the election. Your resignation means the
candidate who replaces you will have less than three months to
campaign. Doesn’t that place him or her at a tremendous
disadvantage?
A: You’d love to see the Republican Party lose, right? I gotta tell
you, so many of these journalists want bad things to happen. The
Republican Party is the party of America, okay? So, it doesn’t
matter all that much who runs in my place. I’m pretty sure it will
be someone who shares my values. There will be no
disadvantage.
Q: By calling the Republican Party the party of America, do you
mean that Democrats are somehow un-American?
A: Boy, that question tops them all. Look, the Republican Party
that I had a hand in remaking represents the values most
Americans think are great. Not so much that other party. They
want to tear down statues and tear down America. Draw
whatever conclusions you like.
Q: How do you hope you are remembered as president?
A: I know history will very kind to me because I was and still am a
terrific president. So, I’ll be remembered for my greatness and
intelligence. The Democrats couldn’t remove me from office. I’m
removing myself. End of story.
As you prepare to write your story, you receive an email from
Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell. He is the Senate
majority leader and wields a great deal of power in the party.
Here’s what he wrote:
“I am saddened that President Trump will not be our candidate in
the upcoming election. In our meeting yesterday I tried to
dissuade him from resigning. However, I and the rest of the party
must respect his decision. We Republican Party leaders remain
confident a Republican will be elected. While the candidate has
yet to be named, I fully expect it will be Vice President Mike
Pence.”

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