NFHS Extemporaneous Speaking Topics
February 2024

Domestic
Closed-Ended 

1. Will the close relationship between Donald Trump and Elon Musk collapse?
2. Will the Trump administration be able to enforce its federal return to work policy?
3. Have President Biden’s last-minute pardons for family members set a bad precedent?
4. Can America’s agricultural sector survive the Trump administration’s deportation policies?
5. Will President Trump’s shift in emphasis from renewable energy to increased fossil fuel production significantly impact the price of fuel?
6. Will the release of leaders of the Proud Boys and Oathkeepers result in a revival of those organizations?
7. Should congressional Democrats look for ways to cooperate with their Republican colleagues, or should they actively resist Republican legislation?
8. Does Pete Buttigieg have a promising future in Democratic politics?
9. Would purchasing Greenland from Denmark be in the United States’ national interest?
10. Having declared drug gangs terrorist organizations, should the United State deploy troops to Mexico to combat them?
11. Should American dentists be worried about the growing anti-fluoride sentiment in American government?
12. Was the Trump administration right to release long-held records of the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations?
13. Will the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate “birthright citizenship” pass scrutiny by the courts? 

Domestic
Open-Ended 

1. What steps can immigration advocacy groups take to curtail the negative side effects of President Trump’s deportation policies?
2. How will Pete Hegseth’s leadership of the Defense Department change America’s military preparedness?
3. How will Elon Musk’s increasing time commitment to politics impact the success of his companies?
4. How will big tech firms benefit from the Trump administration?
5. How will proposed tariffs against Canadian goods impact the US economy?
6. How will America’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization impact its preparedness for future pandemics?
7. How will President Trump’s pardons and commutations for January 6th rioters impact his support among first responders?
8. What steps can California take to better protect its communities from wildfires?
9. Who is the best choice to be the next leader of the Democratic National Committee?
10. With abortion more limited, what will be the next front in the Pro-Life movement’s advocacy?
11. How will Kash Patel’s leadership change the focus of the FBI?
12. How would proposed cuts to Medicaid impact the American healthcare system?

International
Closed-Ended 

1. Will Israel and Hamas be able to sustain a lasting ceasefire?
2. With the inauguration of Donald Trump, has the prospect of an end to the war in Ukraine increased?
3. Should the European Union increase its investment in collective security?
4. Will the ICC’s recent arrest warrant for Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzada cause Afghanistan’s Taliban government to reconsider its treatment of women?
5. Would North Korea welcome new talks with the Trump administration?
6. Does Australia have a growing antisemitism problem?
7. Will service in Ukraine and Russia foster discontent in the North Korean army?
8. Does Panama’s management of the Panama Canal represent a real threat to American shipping?
9. Will South Korea’s president be convicted on insurrection charges?
10. Is Turkey gaining too much influence in Syria?
11. Will President Trump’s return to office revive the possibility of normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia?
12. Should Alawites fear persecution under the new Syrian regime?
13. Will an improvement of relations between Ethiopia and Somalia last?

International
Open-Ended

1. How should the global community respond to the use of chemical weapons in Sudan’s civil war?
2. How should Mexico address the probable influx of refugees from Donald Trump’s deportation policies?
3. Who will most likely succeed Justin Trudeau as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada?
4. How might former Brazilian President Bolsanaro avoid serving time in prison?
5. How will rising interest rates impact the Japanese economy?
6. How will China’s continuing population decline impact its economy?
7. How would a successful ban on Tik Tok in the United States impact the company’s survival globally?
8. How might Prince Harry’s settlement with a UK tabloid impact his relationship with the rest of the royal family?
9. What accounts for the rise in strength of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party?
10. What steps can European nations take to increase the extraction of Lithium?
11. What steps must New Zealand’s government take to win its battle against invasive species?
12. What steps must India take to challenge China’s naval ambitions in the Indian Ocean?