NFHS Extemporaneous Speaking Topics
December 2024

Domestic
Closed-Ended

1. Will leaders in the US military cooperate with any orders from the Trump administration to deploy soldiers for law enforcement in American cities?
2. Despite his distancing himself from it during his campaign, will Donald Trump embrace implementation of Project 2025?
3. Has the Democratic Party lost its reputation as the party of the working class?
4. Will the post-election surge in the stock market continue into 2025?
5. Should Georgia prosecutors press-on with election interference charges against Donald Trump?
6. Can Donald Trump feasibly follow through with his threat to eliminate the Department of Education?
7. Could a third political party made up of moderate Democrats and disaffected Republicans break the two-Party system?
8. Will any of Donald Trump’s cabinet nominations get rejected by the Senate?
9. Should we anticipate further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in the new year?
10. Would increased tariffs on foreign goods fuel American manufacturing?
11. Will clean energy investments remain strong in 2025?
12. Should the 2024 election results make us more or less confident in polling?

Domestic
Open-Ended

1. What steps must the Democratic Party take to rebuild itself after its strong electoral rebuke?
2. How will the election of Donald Trump influence the Federal Reserve Board’s strategy on interest rates?
3. With Kamala Harris defeated, who is the next best candidate to be the Democratic Party’s presidential pick for 2028?
4. In his remaining days in office, what should Joe Biden do to cement a positive legacy?
5. How will the election of Donald Trump impact the Bitcoin market?
6. What will Ilon Musk and Vivek Ramaswami target for budget cuts as they lead the Department of Government Efficiency?
7. If confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services, what significant changes to American healthcare can we expect under RFK, Jr.?
8. With several states passing amendments protecting reproductive rights, how likely is it that Congress will pursue federal legislation restricting abortion?
9. With Kamala Harris’s loss, what will be the future for anti-Trump Republicans who supported her?
10. What will be the policy priorities of the Trump administration in the first 100 days?
11. What will be the impact on the US economy if the Trump administration follows through on promised mass deportations?
12. What issue had the greatest impact on voters’ decisions in 2024?
13. What role will JD Vance play in the new Trump administration?

International
Closed-Ended

1. Should NATO members prepare themselves for a future without US leadership?
2. Should Western European nations step-up their military assistance to Ukraine?
3. Is anti-semitism a rising threat to Jewish people living in and visiting Europe?
4. Can Donald Trump mediate an equitable end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine?
5. Does Moldova have a future in the European Union?
6. Is Israel meeting its strategic objectives in Lebanon?
7. Will China’s plan to bail out cash-strapped local governments stimulate the sluggish economy there?
8. Will North Korean troops make a difference on the battlefields of Ukraine?
9. Do the BRICS nations have sufficient unity to be a true counterweight to American global influence?
10. Does China have too much control over the world’s most precious minerals?
11. Is the conflict in Gaza and Lebanon helping to fill the ranks of global jihadist movements?
12. Will the death of Yahya Sinwar change Hamas’s strategy toward Israel?
13. Will Mexico return to an extended period of one-party rule?

International
Open-Ended

1. What steps can be taken to de-escalate the conflict between Israel and Iran?
2. With Israel cutting cooperation with the UNRWA, who can fill the gap to provide aid to Palestinians?
3. What steps can France take to calm tensions in New Caledonia?
4. How will the collapse of Germany’s governing coalition impact Olaf Scholz’s ability to continue his Chancellorship?
5. What steps can the political opposition in Georgia take to prevent the nation from sliding further into Russia’s orbit?
6. How will the end of the Botswana Democratic Party’s 58-year reign change the priorities of the nation?
7. What nation is in the best position to help bring an end to the conflict in Sudan?
8. How will Argentina’s austerity measures impact programs aimed at supporting women’s health?
9. How will a Trump presidency impact Mexico’s relations with its neighbor to the north?
10. How will the election of Donald Trump impact the global influence of Hungary’s Viktor Orban?
11. What must Kemi Badenoch do to strengthen the UK’s Conservative Party?
12. What must the UK do to address increasing violence in British prisons?