Trump vents online about service provider after conference call marred by glitch

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Category: Technology/Innovations

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. assess / əˈsɛs / (v.) – to check or decide how good, bad, or important something is
    Example:

    The teacher will assess the students’ work to see how well they did.


  2. disruption / dɪsˈrʌp ʃən / (n.) – a situation in which something is interrupted or stopped from happening or working normally or smoothly
    Example:

    The power cut caused a disruption to the online meeting.


  3. diligently / ˈdɪl ɪ dʒənt li / (adv.) – in a way that shows hard work and careful effort
    Example:

    James diligently practiced the piano every day to improve his performance for the concert.


  4. shy away from (something) / ʃaɪ əˈweɪ frʌm / (phrasal v.) – to avoid doing or facing something because it is difficult, unpleasant, or scary
    Example:

    Robert shies away from sharing his ideas in meetings because he worries others won’t agree.


  5. gripe / graɪp / (n.) – a strong complaint
    Example:

    Many customers had gripes about the slow service at the restaurant.


Article

Read the text below.

On June 30, the president of the United States was just another person complaining online about his service provider.


Donald Trump wrote in a pair of posts on Truth Social that he was trying to hold a conference call with faith leaders from all over the country but was unable to start the call because of technical difficulties.


“AT&T is totally unable to make their equipment work properly,” the Republican president said in a post. “This is the second time it’s happened. If the Boss of AT&T, whoever that may be, could get involved—It would be good. There are tens of thousands of people on the line!”


Trump then followed up with another post in which he said, “AT&T ought to get its act together.”


Representatives for AT&T responded to a post from the White House press secretary sharing Trump’s complaints. “We’ve reached out to the White House and are working to quickly understand and assess the situation,” AT&T said.


AT&T reached out immediately, according to a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The issue was resolved and the call started 20 minutes late.


AT&T said in a follow-up statement posted on X on the night of June 30 that it appeared “the disruption was caused by an issue with the conference call platform, not our network. Unfortunately, this caused the delay, and we are working diligently to better understand the issue so we can prevent disruptions in the future.”


Trump rarely shies away from posting his gripes on social media, whether the target is foreign leaders, media organizations, elected officials or telecommunication companies.


The call he was delayed from holding was not on his publicly released schedule.


This article was provided by The Associated Press.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

  • President Trump made his gripe about the technical problem public by posting on social media. In your opinion, should leaders share their complaints in public or solve problems quietly? Why? How do you think businesses are affected when powerful people, like Trump, complain about them on social media? Discuss.
  • Trump rarely shies away from posting his gripes on social media. How do you think public leaders should use social media (ex. sharing news and announcements, posting personal opinions and complaints)? Do you think complaining in public makes a leader seem honest or unprofessional? Why do you say so? Discuss.

Discussion B

  • What kinds of things do people in your country often post about on social media? What kinds of posts do you enjoy seeing, and which ones do you usually find less interesting? Discuss.
  • Do you think people share too much on social media sometimes? Why do you say so? Why do you think some people feel the need to share every detail of their lives online? Discuss.