This Man Moved Across the World to Avoid President Trump

Pre discussion questions

Do you think this man’s actions are strange?

Why do you think he left America to avoid Trump? Why do you think he hated the president?

Many have threatened it, but Gary Belis is doing it. The 64 year-old New Yorker is leaving the country now that Donald Trump is president.

At the very moment Trump is at the event to become the 45th president of the United States, Belis will in the air over the Pacific Ocean. He will be on a one-way ticket to New Zealand to start a new chapter in his life.  In January New York is snowy but, it will be summer in New Zealand. However Belis said he chose New Zealand for its location only. 

“It is as far away as I can get from Donald Trump,” he said.  His departure date of January 19^th is the day before Trump becomes president. His plan was not a coincidence, either.   “I do not want to be here for one minute of his presidency.”  After Belis’ flight crosses the International Date Line, he will land in New Zealand on Saturday, January 21st.  “I literally will have removed January 20th from my life.”

Belis, who is a Democrat and Hillary Clinton supporter, said the Trump of 2016 was the same Trump who wrote the letter 30 years ago. Thirty years ago Trump wanted Belis to be fired for writing bad things about Trump’s book. Belis said that Trump  is — thin-skinned, vindictive.

In September of 2016, as Belis prepared to go to North Carolina to volunteer for the Democrats, he added an interesting condition in his rental contract.  “There’s just one last thing," he told his real estate agent.  "If Donald Trump is elected president, then this contract will be destroyed and I get my deposit back.”  Belis said he and his realtor had a good laugh. But the escape condition was added and he used it shortly after Election Day.

“There is something going on in the American political system that I find ugly. And I’m not sure I want to be in the USA to see what will happen,” he said.

Belis wasn’t the only American interested in leaving the country after Trump’s victory.  On Election Night, Google searches in the United States spiked for “move to Canada,” “move to Australia,” and “move to New Zealand.”  The Canadian immigration website crashed as incoming traffic overwhelmed it.

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

A=2, B=7, C=1, D=6, E=3, F=8, G=4, H=5

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

1.      The teacher threatened the students that if they did not stop talking then they would be punished.

2.      After being president, Obama will begin a new chapter in his life.

3.      It was a coincidence that we were on the same airplane flight on the same day at the same time.

4.      If you are famous then you can not be thin-skinned because so many people will say bad things about you.

5.      She was vindictive towards her ex-boyfriend cheating on her.

6.      I can see that something is going on, I think she is in love, she is so happy these days.

7.      There has been a spike in gas usage because of the cold weather these days.

8.      Our boat was overwhelmed by the huge waves and it sunk.

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1.      What do you think about Gary following his threat to leave the U.S.A.?

2.      At what age do you think you might begin a new chapter in your life?

3.      Do you believe in coincidence when meeting people or events in your life, or do you think life is planned?

4.      Why is having a thin-skinned leader in a country a bad thing?

5.      Do you think you could be vindictive? Why or why not?

6.      When did you first learn that something bad was going on with the president of Korea?

7.      What things on social media are spiking with being popular these days?

8.      Tell about a time you felt overwhelmed.