3. THE POTUS & THE white house
Government and Politics
The USA is a Presidential Republic made up of 50 States and the District of Columbia, which is the capital and seat of the US Government.
The United States has both a federal and a state Government.
Each state has a certan level of indipendence because it has got its own laws, schools, police, taxes and flag, even if it is the national law which is more important. The government is divided into three branches: the Legislative branch led by the Congress, the Executive led by the President and the Judiciary led by the Supreme Court. The Congress is the law-making body; it consists of The House of Representatives and the Senate.
The POTUS (President Of The United States) is Head of State and of the Government. He is elected by the people every four years. His official residence is The White House. There are two main parties in the USA: The Republican Party and The Democratic Party. The American Flag is called “Stars and Stripes”.
THE POTUS: DONALD TRUMP
An entrepreneur, politician and American TV personality, is 45th President of the United States of America since 20th January 2017.
Donald John Trump was born on 14th June, 1946 in New York: his father Fred Trump was son of German immigrants. He was a wealthy real estate entrepreneur married to Mary Anne MacLeod, arrived in the US from Scotland. It is the fourth of five children. The schooling of Trump was made of continuous changes because of his behavior problems.
He graduated as a bachelor in economics and began his career at the Elizabeth Trump & Son, his father’s company. He took possession of the company in 1971 and changed its name to The Trump Organization, although the first was devoted to his paternal grandmother.
In his nearly 40 years as manufacturer he leads to failure four companies. Then he expanded business to casinos and the world of entertainment: forty years of successes and failures of the new occupant of the White House. He has always lived surrounded by scandals, from the professional to sentimental ones.
During his business career he built office towers and skyscrapers, including the Trump Tower, a skyscraper of fifty floors in Manhattan. There was a dispute about it: the operations were criticized as the work was attended by two hundred irregular Polish workers, paid four or five dollars per hour for four weeks and twelve hours a day.
He has built several hotels and casinos, as well as several golf courses and more around the world.
Donald Trump is known for his tumultuous love life. He had three wives and five children. His current wife is Melania Knauss , known as Melania Trump, former Slovenian model, elegant and refined. She works in fashion as a designer and entrepreneur: she manufactures and designs jewelry.
As an actor, he always appears in the role of himself. He worked in Woody Allen's film "Mummy I missed the plane" and in the “The Apprentice”, reality show dedicated to aspiring entrepreneurs. He left the program, at the request of NBC, because he called Mexican immigrants "drug dealers and kidnappers".
The election campaign was one of the most criticized and suffered in recent years because of the scandals, sexist phrases and aggressive tones.
Trump has set his campaign on populist , liberal conservative and isolationist positions. He attacked President Obama stating that the United States needs a true leader to return big again, (Make America Great Again is precisely the theme of his election campaign).
Trump has often criticized the trade agreements signed by the United States with other States, to which ascribes in particular the decline of manufacturing and the loss of jobs in favor of low-wage countries.
Donald Trump arrived at the White House after defeating the rival Hillary Clinton. His first speech to the US Congress, as President was marked by strongly isolationist and patriotic themes.
The following day there was the Women's March, a march against Trump attended by more than half a million people. As President he proposed the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico. Besides he proposed the ban on people from some Islamic countries to enter in the US.
ACTIVITIES
School Research
Find information about the American, Italian and English political Institutions and make a comparison answering to the following questions.
