Rhetorical Analysis of “Live and Let Die, Trump-style”
Maureen Dowd begins her article using a complex but comprehensive syntax. She uses a candid tone to introduce the subject of her article to the audience. Dowd vividly describes her enthusiasm for vampires and bats in a way that implies her audience is familiar with her topic or somewhat to foreshadow what she will talk about. She introduces her topic using allegories related to a specific theme. These allegories are from sources familiar to most people, such as Twilight and Batman, and she builds her argument through these sources. Her allegories insinuate fiction, and she relates them with her main subject, who is Donald Trump. Her diction employs imagery in the form of metaphors. She mentions how the bat is a global villain to imply that her theme is a global issue. At this point, readers can understand her figurative language and predict what she will talk about.
She builds the credibility of her opinion using facts about vampires and the spread of plagues from animals to humans. She then relates these facts to her perception of supernatural terrors. The context of her examples is placed in a way to enlighten her audience about historical diseases and how they were contracted. She then relates the Spanish flu to coronavirus with an introspective tone. She connects the current state of the country with the metaphors she had introduced at the beginning of her article. However, she makes the connection without being subjective by citing a term used in Jared Kushner’s podcast about Trump being an android vampire. She builds her argument objectively using opinions from other contributors in the Times Op-Ed, who describe Trump’s actions being similar to a vampire’s actions. The reason for describing Trump using a critical tone is because of his oppressive actions towards others. His oppressive acts are described in a manner that is emotionally laden to reduce the tone of judgment.
Dowd affirms the opinions of the contributors by introducing factual statements. Her personal opinion about Trump’s ‘vampire’ nature comes out when she states Trump’s callous act of faking the death toll due to coronavirus. Dowd’s attitude towards Trump comes out as contemptuous when she says, “So he is despicably turning the dead into the undead, trying to figure out how to claim they weren’t lost” She then gives details about the severe nature of the coronavirus which is a form of enlightening her audience that Trump’s actions could spring forth future problems. Dowd uses satire to criticize Trump’s ignorance of touring a Honeywall factory without a mask by saying, “It was apt that, as the maskless Trump toured a Honeywell factory making masks in Arizona, Guns N’ Roses’ cover of “Live and Let Die” was playing.”
The author describes the unmoored nature of Trump, who advised protestors to choose between public health and the economy. The author began to bring out Trump’s character, which she metaphorically described as a ‘vampire.’ This metaphor suited the evil and greedy nature of Trump’s action that was similar to most vampire characters. Dowd described how Trump barred Anthony Fauci from testifying about the virus’s origin and his attempts to shut down the pandemic task force. The image she evokes of Trump’s actions effectively strengthens her perception of Trump and his administration as ‘vampires.’ Her diction also evokes the desire for justice and action against poor administration.
The author continues to describe the negative attributes of Trump that affected America. She implies that he is hypocritical since he is accused Joe Biden of nepotism, while in the real sense, he was the one who relied on favouritism and nepotism to get what he wants. She uses an example from Jared, a contributor in the Times Op-Ed, to defend her opinion about Trump’s favouritism objectively. Jared had reported that Trump prioritized volunteers who had masks, gloves, and ventilators with Trump connections. Dowd includes Antonio’s findings of Trump’s nature as being preoccupied with death because of his experiences when growing up. This finding weakens her argument since it implies that Trump’s actions are a result of the trauma experienced during his youth, especially the part that explains why Trump was promised to die before reaching 40.
Dowd further prompts her audience to learn about Trump’s character by mentioning that one of his favourite songs is “Is That All There Is?” by Peggy Lee ballad. At this point, the audience can relate Trump’s preferences with his attitude. Therefore, Dowd probably implies that Trump possesses a care-free attitude even in situations that required immediate action. Dowd ends the article with a statement to caution her audience about the consequences that would affect them from Trump’s actions. “Yet now that it is his duty to lead us out of the valley of death, Trump appears removed, shirking responsibility and deflecting blame.” This statement implies that Trump’s actions are lethal. She uses sarcasm at the end when she says that “Maybe Trump doesn’t seem real to Trump, either” and ends the article with a rhetorical question to leave her audience in a reflective state.
In conclusion, from the above discussion, Dowd’s article reflectively brings out the character of Trump using metaphors and opinions from other authors. First, she connects the current state of the country with the metaphors she had introduced at the beginning of her article. However, she makes the connection without being subjective by citing a term used in Jared Kushner’s podcast about Trump being an android vampire. Secondly, Dowd uses satire to criticize Trump’s ignorance of touring a Honeywall factory without a mask by saying, “It was apt that, as the maskless Trump toured a Honeywell factory making masks in Arizona, Guns N’ Roses’ cover of “Live and Let Die” was playing.” Lastly, Dowd probably implies that Trump possesses a care-free attitude even in situations that required immediate action. She uses the tone and attributes of Trump to persuade her to make her audience reflect on the problems caused by Trump and his administration. She does not state her argument at the beginning of the article but builds it up throughout her essay, and the final rhetoric question identifies her attitude towards Trump.
Works Cited
Dowd, Maureen. “Live and Let Die, Trump-Style.” The New York Times. 9th May, 2020.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/09/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-trump-vampires.html