Unlike previous presidents, Donald Trump’s administration is radically

I don't think using "not just X but also Y" is correct.

The antecedent of "his" is "Donald Trump’s". A possessive pronoun may have a possessive noun as antecedent.

In Option C, there may be a problem with the meaning (at least according to the author, it seems). This option implies 2 things:

1. Donald Trump's situation is different from that of his predecessors,
2. but the same is not true for his predecessors (previous presidents), i.e. his predecessors did not have a different situation from that of their predecessors.

It appears that the author of this question does not intend to convey the second part (though this is not a solid reason to eliminate C).

However there seems to be* a parallelism error in both options C and E (OA):
not only (because clause), but also (because of noun phrase)

The ending of the sentence should have been:
"....... but also because level of media opposition is unprecedented."

*Please refer to the discussion below about parallelism:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/unlike-previ ... l#p1827264

Thank you for your comment. I would like to refer you to the official question at https://gmatclub.com/forum/in-recent-ye ... 82782.html

In this we see that the best answer contains the phrase:

"party to acquire...and party because" + subject + verb. In this official answer, the phrases were considered parallel. Accordingly, I do not agree that there is a "serious parallelism error" in the credited response. Certainly the phrases are not perfectly parallel, but this is not a serious impediment to the answer.

I would also like to refer you to https://gmatclub.com/forum/over-the-cou ... 34885.html in which we see that the best answer (A) contains the phrase:

"...as a result of several improvements in blowing machinery and because coal replaced charcoal as the fuel used in the smelting of iron ore."

According to your logic, this official question must also have a "serious parallelism error" that will no doubt prompt you to suggest a better wording.

Personally, however, I think your understanding of parallelism is unnecessarily narrow. Parallelism is not a straitjacket preventing us from expressing ourselves but rather a tool used to make our meaning plain.

Confusion is over (C or E).

C)Unlike previous presidents <were in radically different situation from that of their predecessors> , Donald Trump is in a situation radically different from that of his predecessors not only because his approval ratings upon taking office are lower than those of

It compares- D Trump and previous presidents on the ground-
whether they are in radically different situation from that of their predecessors.


E)Donald Trump’s situation is radically different from that of his predecessors not just because his approval ratings upon taking office are lower than those of


It compares- D Trump and previous presidents on the ground-
their respective current situations.

Main statement:
Unlike previous presidents, Donald Trump’s administration is radically different from those of his predecessors not only because his approval ratings taking office are lower than


By looking at it, we can infer - Donald Trump's administration and previous presidents' administrations are compared .
hence , comparison is based on current situation.
E looks more promising, THOUGH E has abstained from using 'not only..but also' clause.

Thank you for pointing out the official examples.

The first example you pointed out sets up parallelism between two adverbial phrases ("partly to acquire.." and "partly because..") and is hence alright.

In the second example you pointed out, I can see that a parallelism is set up between a prepositional phrase and a dependent clause.

Thus I agree that my concept of parallelism is too stringent, and GMAT allows breaking parallelism to this extent at least. I am modifying my post that states "serious problem".

For me this is a debatable question.

Iam totally lost with the explanations.
Why is C not correct?

I Still don't get what "his" refers to in answer E.

I did mark C. But only after seeing the official answer can I say that there is also a redundancy error in C.

When we say 'Unlike previous presidents, Donald trump is in a situation radically different' we already have compared Donald trump to his predecessors. Therefore, 'From that of his predecessors' is unecesaary here.

However, C seems to be the best option at first and was also my first choice because of the 'not only.. but also' framework.

Posted from my mobile device

Can anyone please elaborate why is option C incorrect?

Your queries have already been discussed in the thread:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/unlike-previ ... l#p1825958

(A) Unlike previous presidents, Donald Trump’s administration is radically different from those of his predecessors not only because his approval ratings taking office are lower than
THe comparison is off therefore out

(B) Unlike previous presidents, the administration of Donald Trump is radically different from those of his predecessors not only because his approval ratings taking office are lower than those of
wrong comparison between presidents and administration therefore out

(C) Unlike previous presidents, Donald Trump is in a situation radically different from that of his predecessors not only because his approval ratings upon taking office are lower than those of
The comparison is perfect however the redudancy isn't eleminated therefore out

(D) Donald Trump’s situation, unlike those of previous presidents, is radically different from his predecessors not just because his approval ratings upon taking office are lower than those of
unlike and different shouldn't be together therefore out

(E) Donald Trump’s situation is radically different from that of his predecessors not just because his approval ratings upon taking office are lower than those of
The redudancy is eleminated unlike and different and the comparison is perfect therefore our answer

Therefore IMO E

Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.