President Trump’s speech in Minneapolis
Introduction to the speech
The aura in the air was a political mood where the campaigns for the 2020 American elections are at high gear. Donald Trump and Mike Pence are touring the country as the contenders of the republican ticket, president and vice president respectively for the second term. Minneapolis is a state that has been known to take serious political stands on issues such as immigration, the economy and health. Hence the view of the two running mates auger well with the people of Minneapolis. The campaign rally is observed as an opportune moment to use their hand stance on the issues as an avenue to gunner more votes in the state. Therefore, the main agenda of the two is to convince the people of Minneapolis that their security and safety is guaranteed, economic growth is assured and a better healthcare system for the state.
Content and structure
Appreciation
Trump starts by appreciating the people of Minnesota for turning up in large numbers to the rally and asserting it is a great state which the two will win in no time. The mood, according to Trump, is the day before the election and mentions 20,000 attendance is a new record with more 25,000 to convert. Over 100,000 people wanted to attend the rally but could not, according to Trump. Therefore, he appreciates the efforts that those who are there have made despite the challenges facing the region.
Theme: Immigration stand
According to Trump’s speech, there were apprehensions which were made to the southwest border in line with the United States fiscal policy of 2016. There was a total of 553,378 arrests in the fiscal year of 2018, and by 2019, there are border apprehensions which have totalled to nearly 926,769 regarding the border customs protection unit (Poddar, 2019). President Donald Trump managed to show interest regarding the completion in Minnesota and serious campaign activity was witnessed in the 2016 general campaigns. Since the year 1972, there was no Republican presidential candidate who had ever won from the state of Minnesota which even made Obama win by 10 per cent in the year 2008.
Theme: The American Economy
Donald trump details in his speech that America is a great nation that needs protection from diversionary policies surrounding immigration as orchestrated by previous presidents. The other major issue that Trump brings forth is the issue with China, who he asserts that the country wants his presidency. Trump asserts that one of the Chinese representatives already called him and addressed him as Mr President. In making the American economy great again, Trump asserts on working together with China and other countries to ensure the mutual prosperity of economies.
Theme: Impeachment and smear campaign
President Trump managed to state that electing him is phoney. The storyline of impeachment claim stemmed from the Ukraine arms deal, allegedly withheld by the US on the pretext that the country investigates Hunter Biden over some dealings years back. However, in his speech, Trump rubbished these claims arguing that the entire thing was a smear campaign by the democrats to remove him from office, something he termed as illegal. His position indicates that the case beforehand was of public interest and as such, must be investigated. By centralizing his claims, and creating the theory relevant to his core aims, his context is critically supported by his relationship with Ukraine. He rallies around the people with more impulsive approach regarding the investigation, playing the victims came in the process.
Theme: International relations
This was very accurate where the president of Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday managed to make it clear that as earlier mentioned, there is no any blackmail which was engaged in while taking on phone with President Donald Trump. By then, Trump was still under the impeachment inquiry. The accuracy of the information and the overall position pooled from his understanding of arms clearance and the political factors remained well embedded in his political milestones. He said that the best people are available to work with him, creating a mind folding believe that he is well prepared to deal with the Ukraine case. He positions himself at the centre, creating additional friction and neutralizing the political and foreign policy pressure almost simultaneously.
Engaging the audience
Trump manages to engage the audience in the rally successfully. A look at the transcript of the speech shows that from time to time, the address was cut short with applause and chanting from the audience in support of the speech delivery. The significant instances that the crowd responds in praise are when Trump places arguments dismissing the democrats. For instance, there is applause when he asserts that the democrats would not achieve a portion of what he has achieved so far in his first term. There is also applause when he mentions how the democrats tied to overturn his rule by the impeachment motion.
Persuasive competence
Ethos: According to Rife (2010), the application of Ethos in a speech looks into relating the characteristic spirit of the culture already in place. Based on the election mood, the American culture is observed in his speech, especially when he mentions that the American economy has been tremendous., and there are strives to maintain the same position. The strength of the economy, according to Trump can also be observed from the strong military in place and a strong healthcare system. The two are key to the American people and portray a culture of success as the institutions take care of the people.
Logos: Logos assert to logical reasoning, rationality and convincing attitude given to a speech as suggested by Himmelsbach (2019). Trump makes use of logical arguments as observed on some of the issues happening on his government’s watch. For instance, the failed impeachment takes a good portion of the speech where Trump mentions the ill intentions of the other party. At the same time, Trump uses statistics as observed from the immigration issue to stipulate the incompetency nature of the previous government. He asserts on the achievements of his government as a stepping stone towards realizing a better future for his government on the next few years coming.
Pathos:
According to Hill (2019), pathos is emotional appeals to the audience in a speech. In this speech, Trump calls the other party as “the do-nothing Democrat extremist” in a bid to paint a negative picture of the other party emotionally. He also mentions their debates as crazy when he looks at the suggestion to spend $99 trillion in redoing buildings across the United States. He further initiates the crowd against the mayor and asks for a change. However, he takes on the police and applauds them for the great work they are doing by asserting that there is no other place to have fun except at a Trump rally.
Competence in communication
One way Trump managed to show competence in communicating with the audience is through non-verbal communication such as critically rotating though the crowd and mentioning a few people. The rhythm of his speech is in line with the response from the people while posing from time to time to give the audience time to applause and chant. The competence in communication offers the people a chance to gain confidence in his words, especially when he repeats the chanting to the crowd.
References
Hill, J., 2019. Logos, Ethos, pathos and the marketing of higher education. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, pp.1-18.
Himmelsbach, V., 2019. Ethos, Pathos, Logos: How Rhetoric Can Improve Your Teaching | Top Hat. [online] Top Hat. Available at: <https://tophat.com/blog/ethos-pathos-logos/> [Accessed 15 April 2020].
Rife, M., 2010. Ethos, Pathos, Logos, Kairos: Using a Rhetorical Heuristic to Mediate Digital-Survey Recruitment Strategies. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 53(3), pp.260-277.