SUMMARY

On Monday, NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter join Amna Nawaz to discuss the latest political news, including the first Republican debate of the primary season and former President Donald Trump's decision to skip it as he leads in the polls and is set for processing in a Georgia jail. For a transcript of this story, click here.

UPDATE! POST-DEBATE CLASS ACTIVITY:

Check out this segment on the debate and where the GOP candidates stand with voters.

How did Keith and Walter's pre-game analysis match up to the real thing? Have students read or watch 5 different recaps by NewsHour, Fox, Washington Post, TYT, CNN and the Wall Street Journal and report back to the class. Compare how different news outlets covered the debate. Is there a particular style of coverage you enjoyed? Do you think the news outlets covered the topic fairly and responsibly? Explain.

News wrap alternative: Check out recent segments from the NewsHour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.

FIVE FACTS

• When and Where is the first GOP primary debate for the 2024 presidential election taking place?
• Who are some of the candidates that will be participating in the first GOP primary debate, and what are their backgrounds?
• What does polling show about who is leading in the GOP primary race?
• How has Trump’s popularity changed with GOP voters since a recent wave of criminal charges filed against him?
• Why is Donald Trump skipping the GOP primary debate?

FOCUS QUESTIONS

Why do you think Trump’s legal problems have seemed to make him more popular with Republican voters?

News analysis: What do you think news media can do better to ensure coverage of political candidates is fair?

Alternative: See, Think, Wonder: What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What story would you want to find out more about? Where would you go to learn more?

FOR MORE

What students can do:

Play BINGO! Use this Google doc to play BINGO while watching a recording of the first Republican primary debate of the 2024 presidential election season. Fox News announced the debate would air only on its channel on Wednesday, August 23 and clips are available there.

Article 2, Section 3 of the Constitution lists only three qualifications to be president — “the President must be at least 35 years of age, be a natural born citizen, and must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.”

Let’s have some fun with the Republican Primary Debate. Fill out the BINGO card with phrases, names, proposals, etc. that you expect to hear from the candidates during the first Republican primary debate of Election 2024. Share a picture of your completed BINGO card on Twitter at #PBSnewsClassroom and #PrimaryBINGO. And shoutout to NewsHour Classroom advisor Ryan Werenka, U.S. government teacher in Troy, Michigan, for coming up with a fun way to watch the debates!

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