Introduction
Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee for president and current president of the United States, conducted a political campaign in November 2016 that reaffirmed his anti-establishment rhetoric and positioned him as the candidate who would free the country from the establishment. With reference to "disastrous trade deals, massive illegal immigration, and economic and foreign policies that have bled our country dry," Mr. Trump claimed in the advertisement that the political establishment had failed and did not have the interests of the American people at heart ("Donald Trump's Argument For America"). He presented himself as an alien to the political establishment and the candidate most qualified to fix a broken system. The ad also seemed to imply that the establishment was curtailing the progress of those seeking to change it, effectively alienating I from the people and creating an "us vs them" situation, where the "us" referred to the electorate and them was the political elite. This essay will analyze the rhetorical strategies used in the ad by examining the metaphors used and how they affected the message passed and its effectiveness on the audience.
Rhetorical Analysis
The ad begins by declaring that the aim of the movement that Mr. Trump leads is to replace a political establishment which is described as having failed, and replacing it with a government controlled by the American people. The choice of wording in this statement is consistent with George Lakoff’s assertion that the words used in coining a message are important in determining the way in which the message will be understood and hence received. Every word evokes a frame in the recipient’s mind, which could be an image or another knowledge with which the recipient associates the word in question (Lakoff, George). The word movement is associated with a struggle by a group of people, who may be powerless individually, but whose union strengthens them, against an ill perpetrated by superior forces or individuals. By using the word to describe his presidential bid, Trump created the feeling that the people were involved in a struggle for their own liberation. It then portrays the political elite, from whom Mr. Trump distances himself by grouping himself with the people as corrupt and inept. In this way, he shows that he can be trusted as he is the good guy, and the others the bad guys.
The Establishment as the "Bad"
The ad then declares that the establishment opposes their movement because it has too much at stake, and that those in Washington liaise with these people who "don’t have your good in mind" ("Donald Trump's Argument For America"). This is an archetypal metaphor as described by Michael Osborn. The ad effectively creates a good versus bad situation, where the establishment is the bad while Mr. Trump is the good. Archetypal metaphors often embody basic human motivations, are grounded in common features which makes them immune to time changes and are most common in rhetorical discourse. The good and bad comparison used in the ad fits this description (Osborn, Michael). Then, the ad goes on to describe the bad deeds that the establishment has overseen or perpetuated. Included in the list are bad trade deals, increased illegal immigration, poor economic and foreign policies and the collapse of American industries which heralds the loss of jobs among American citizens. Their decisions have robbed the American people and stripped the country of its wealth, directing funds into the pockets of a few powerful individuals within the ruling elite.
The Power of Metaphors
In I is an Other, author James Geary writes that people are quicker to notice literal inconsistencies than they are to notice metaphorical ones (Geary, James). This may explain why the ad chose to rely on general metaphors on employment in America, rather than literal representations. Indeed, unemployment rates in America were at their lowest at the time of the ad since the 2008 recession and had been on a declining trajectory for the preceding years. The ad appealed to the audience’s emotions rather than their mental faculties. It played on the American public’s increased concerns over immigration and the relation between this and employment among American citizens. Jib Fowle’s describes the tendency for ad creators to appeal to people’s emotions rather than their minds in this manner "by giving form to people's deep-lying desires and picturing states of being that individuals privately yearn for, advertisers have the best chance of arresting attention and affecting communication" (Fowle, Jib). The ad has taken full advantage of this tool, appealing to the masses emotions and ignoring the factual information regarding the matters which it addresses.
The Call to Action
Finally, the ad urges the American people to vote out the corrupt establishment, declaring that they are the only people who have the power to save their country. They are the only force powerful enough to save their country. It portrays Mr. Trump as a hero working with the people to help them reclaim their country from the corrupt political establishment that has subverted their will and worked to serve its purposes instead. The ad again appeals to the masses emotions by creating metaphors that evoke in them feelings of revolution. It portrays them as the oppressed masses who, once united behind the common goal of liberation, have all the power to change their situation and do away with their oppressors, the political establishment. At the same time, it portrays Mr. Trump as the people’s savior, a hero who has selflessly dedicated himself to lead them in their quest for liberation. Thus, they have an obligation to rally behind him as he leads them towards this liberation, by voting for him. He is not a politician, but the leader of a movement whose ultimate beneficiary is the American people.
Conclusion
To conclude, Donald Trump’s political advertisement was filled with metaphors that were intended at gaining him favor among the public. It had a rhetorical strategy that portrayed Trump as a hero and his campaign as a movement. To achieve this, created the illusion of two opposing camps, portraying one as good and the other as bad. The good camp was the one on which he was, backed the American people to root out the bad camp, which he effectively labelled the political establishment. Being himself not having been a politician prior to the presidential election helped perpetuate the message that he was an outsider to the political elite, which had failed the people and needed to be punished by being voted out. His ad appealed to people’s emotions, playing to their need for guidance and to feel safe from the purported bad economic decisions made by the ruling elite. It used the archetypal metaphor good versus bad to create a feeling of antagonism between the electorate and the political establishment.
Works Cited
"Donald Trump's Argument For America". Donaldjtrump.Com, 2016, https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/new-television-ad-donald-trumps-argument-for-america.
Fowle, Jib. "Advertising's Fifteen Basic Appeals". Common Culture: Reading And Writing About American Popular Culture, 1st ed., Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, 1998,.
Geary, James. "I Is An Other: The Secret Life Of Metaphor And How It Shapes The Way We See The Worldby James Geary". Metaphor And Symbol, vol 27, no. 4, 2012, pp. 312-314. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1080/10926488.2012.716300.
Lakoff, George. Don't Think Of An Elephant!. 1st ed., White River Junktion, Chelsea Green Publishing, 2005,.
Osborn, Michael. "Archetypal Metaphor In Rhetoric: The Light‐Dark Family". Quarterly Journal Of Speech, vol 53, no. 2, 1967, pp. 115-126. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1080/00335636709382823.
