9 terms frequently used by US political commentators

1 - What's a "Zinger"?

Pique, buzz, petite phrase

Political commentators often say they expect candidates to throw some Zingers during a debate. What do they mean? Is a zinger different than a Buzz?

A zinger is catchy phrase, a witted comment usually picked up by the media.

Ex: The candidate couldn't help getting off a zinger or two about his opponent.

Ex: Hillary delivered the best zinger of the first debate in response to criticism from Trump for staying off the campaign trail recently.

Ex: « Yes, I did prepare for the debate. And you know what else I prepared for, to be president, and that’s a good thing: »

It comes from the word Zing which has the following meaning:
1. vitality, animation, or zest.
2. a sharp singing or whining noise (the sound of fired bullet)

2 - What do the acronym POTUS and SCOTUS stand for?

Président des Etats-Unis
Magistrat de la Cour suprême des Etats-Unis

POTUS stands for President of the United States. SCOTUS stands for Supreme Court Justice of the United States. Supreme Court justices are named by the President of the United States.

Late Justice Scalia left a vacant seat at the Supreme Court which the President of the United States has to fill. The appointment of a new Supreme Court justice has thus become an important issue of this election season. Click here to learn more about the three branches of the governement.

3 - What does the Acronym GOP stand for?

G.O.P is the acronym (the initials) for the Grand Old Party, which is the other name of the Republican Party.

4 - What are factcheckers?

Analyste de véracité

Facts are events, data, statements, affirmations that are accurate and that can be verified as such by reliable sources. (antonym: untruth).

"To check" means to verify. A debate occurs live. During the time of the debate, candidates may make statements that are not supported by facts.

Fact-checkers are those who see to it that a candidate or a surrogate statements' are supported by facts. Some also provide accuracy ratings for candidates.

Many statements (affirmations) are made by candidates during a campaign. Some may be true, others may be false. Over the course of the 2016 US election process, some have questioned both HRC and Trump’s trustworthiness.

All lot of statements are being made during a campaign and spinners are in charge of elaborating on each comment picked up by the media.

Watch this great video from the Daily Show to understand how spinning works and check out the list of great shows to understand the 2016 US elections we've compiled for you here.

Critics also pointed out the lack of adequate response from journalists when confronted to discrepancies or untruths. Should they pick up on what they think may be an exaggeration or unsubstantiated remarks at the risk of appearing to endorse a candidate over another? Or should they merely ask questions and let the public/viewers decide whether the answer is truthful for themselves, at the risk of raising questions as to their skills?

During primary and presidential debates the impartiality of the moderators has been questioned. At the same time, campaign aids as well as neutral commentators have started analyzing statements and some have formulated the wish for a allowing moderators to act as fact-checkers during the debates.

5 - What are campaign surrogates?

Interprètes de la parole électorale

The campaign surrogate appears at public events that the candidate cannot make it to. He/she may be a spouse, a family member or simply a person with a particular influence over a demographic (millennials, seniors, baby boomers) or a minority (women, veterans, etc..). The President of the United States may also act as a campaign surrogate. Former candidates to their party's nomination such as Ben Carson for the Republicans often act as surrogates.

There are so many media venues available for candidates to appear in that it is virtually impossible for them to participate in each and everyone of them at the same time (ubiquity). To ensure that their message is conveyed in the widest range of media, candidates entrust third parties with the task of speaking on their behalf.

In this video Ivanka Trump claims that she is more than a campaign surrogate, she is a "daughter".

While not technically on the campaign trail, they volunteer to convey messages from the candidate they support to the media. They are not spoke-persons per say. Yet, like spinners they defend their candidate's point of view and provide their opinion as to the interpretation made by others of their candidate's statements.

A surrogate is a replacement, a substitute to something or someone who will act on a temporary basis in the name or in the capacity of the original. A surrogate mother is a person who accepts to carry a child for another woman. (Synonym: Proxy).

6 - What does the term "Millennials" mean?

Les jeunes

The term "Millennials" is used to refer to a demographic group or cohort that follows the Generation X group. Generation X is the demographic cohort following the baby boomers. Accordingly, Millennials designate the younger voters (age from 20 to 35) and historically the group that has the lowest turnout rates on election day. But for the first time in modern history, babyboomers are outnumbered by the Millenials.

• Baby boomers: age 51-69
• Generation X: age 36-50
• Millennials (also known as Generation Y, or echo boomers): 20-35
• Generation Z: under 20

7 - What is a huckster?

Un vendeur agressif

In Utah, a traditionnaly republicain state, a mormon candidate has polls showing him closing up to Trump. This has lead the the Deseret News, a media outlet owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to publish an editorial calling on Mr. Trump to step aside and denounce "the hucksterism, misogyny, narcissism and latent despotism" of the Trump campaign.

A huckster is a salesperson who uses showy or agressive methods to sell goods or wares.

8 - What is a swing state?

Un état dont le vote est impredictible au régard des précédentes elections

To swing is to cause something to move back and forth from one place to another. A swing is a suspended seat that you may find in playgrounds.
A swing state is a state that is not traditionnaly acquired to a particular party and which tends to elect candidates from either the Republican or the Democrat party depending on how the campaign goeas.

Swing states are also referred to as battleground states or purple states (because they are neither red (republican) nor blue (democrats). These are the states where candidates will find the most undecided voters. Accordingly, candidates tend to concentrate their efforts on those states, the ones where the battle needs to be waged.

So which one of the states could side with either a Republican or Democratic presidential? There 12 states that are considered to be capable of voting in favor of either one of the candidates. For instance, Pennsylvania which has 20 electoral votes, has voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in seven of the last 10 elections.

9 - What is early voting?

Vote, scrutin anticipé

Early voting is voting that takes place before the actual election day. It is meant to reduce the lines in the voting polls on election day. Early voting may occur via mail. It can also entail setting up early voting polls.

Remember electoral rules are local rules (not federal), meaning the rules that apply to the organisation of election are determined at the local state level. This is why the election process varies from one state to another.

In this video, Seth Meyers talks about the cut back on early voting staffing in certain states. The video features voters from those states waiting in line to vote.

10 - What does Trump mean when he says the election is rigged?

Truqué, biaisé, arrangé

Today we look at a word that after the 2016 US election that we probably won't ever be able to forget, no matter how hard we try.

"Rigged" means cheated, crooked, manipulated in someone's favor, set up, fishy.

To rig is a navy word meaning to equip, to set up, to prepare or to assemble.

And a Rig is also a truck.

When Trump says the election is rigged, he means it both in a procedural and conceptual way. He wants the idea that the establishment is so powerful and so biased against him that it could pull off a massive corruption of electoral officials to sink in and get on the public debate, even if only to be mocked or discarded.

By saying the election is rigged he addresses those who have good reason to believe the system has not been in their favor.