Victoria Siegmund

Dr. Buchanan
ENGL 325
21 April 2016
Rhetorical Analysis of Donald Trumps Announcement to Run for President
In 2015, billionaire, business mogul Donald Trump announced his intention to run for
president. With the Obama administration ending in November, there is a need for a new
president (exigence). Trumps announcement speech given in June 2015 in New York City is his
official announcement to the nation (audience) where he briefly discusses why he thinks he will
be a good fit for the presidency. The obvious exigence of this situation is that the United States
needs a new president, but Trumps announcement and subsequent popularity highlight larger
issues like a deep dissatisfaction with the American political system. These issues have
culminated for years, but Trumps campaign announcement has allowed this dissatisfaction to
rear its ugly head. For the few months of his campaign, the country did not take him seriously.
Trump was different from other presidential nominees in the way he spoke, carried himself, and
made a spectacle of whole election process. Despite all these things, Trump remains successful.
It is arguable that Trumps lack of complex words and simple sentence structure make him a
mediocre rhetor, but I disagree. The rhetorical success of Donald Trumps announcement to run
for president speech relies on pejorative language to appeal to the audiences sense of emotion
and repetition to drive home his point.

The United States has had a tough time in the twenty first century. The first year of the
new millennium was dealt a huge blow with 9/11 which was followed by the Iraq War. The 2007
housing crash lead to one of the worst recessions in U.S. history. Major events like these have
left the United States struggling to maintain its position as a superpower and have left its
citizenry suspicious and distrustful. A shrinking middle class, large debt, flat wage growth, the
rise of China, mistrust of politicians, and a slew of other issues have created a volatile political
climate (Crilly n.p.). There is no doubt that the United States is in decline. Men like Trump have
always arisen during times like these. Trump appeals to a nostalgic sense of Americas past
greatness. The most common comparison made with Trump is Hitler. To be fair, Trump hasnt
committed the atrocities that Hitler committed but the rhetorical situation in which they rose to
power is similar (Goldenberg n.p.). History doesnt change the fact that desperation breeds
extremism.
In June 2015, Donald Trump announced his intention to run for president. The speech
explains why Trump decided to run for president and why he thinks he will be a good president.
He talks about the issues that face the country and how those issues are not adequately addressed
by our leaders. Donald Trump relies heavily on pathetic appeal or pathos. Pathos is a rhetors
appeal to human emotion (Crowley and Hawhee 170). Appeal to emotion requires knowledge of
the audiences state of mind, who can excite emotion in the audiences mind, and why people
become emotional (Crowley and Hawhee 176). There are several methods in which a rhetor can
appeal to emotion. In the case of Donald Trump, he uses pejorative language. Crowley and
Hawhee define honorific and pejorative langauge as value judgemets, and pejorative language
disparages and downplays (186). Trumps use of pejorative language is used to demean

politicians, other nationalities and religions like Muslims and Mexicans, and incite fear over the
state of the American economic and political system.
Trumps announcement speech is sprinkled with pejorative language. The effectiveness of
Trumps pejorative language lies in the fact that he uses simple descriptive words. For example,
when Trump talks about Obamacare in the beginning of his speech. He describes it as a disaster
called the big lie (Trump para. 27). Trumps use of short words is effective because it packs a
powerful punch. These words are short and widely understood. The average fifth grader
understands what the words big, lie, and disaster mean. The use of those particular words
disparages and downplays Obamacare in a way that the entire nation fully understands. At
another point during his speech Trump discusses the money the United States owes China and
Japan. He asks How stupid are our leaders? How stupid are these politicians to allow this to
happen? How stupid are they? (Trump para. 59). Once again Trump utilizes pejorative language
incite anger over the incompetency of American political leaders. Trump has no reason to present
himself in an intelligible light. Trumps use of simple but pejorative language resembles how one
might speak to a child, because his words are small and widely understood they pack a powerful
punch.
Trumps rhetorical technique is not new and has been tried and successfully tested by
Adolf Hitler. Whether or not Trump understands that a good amount of the American public is
unsophisticated and undereducated is unknown but Trump takes a page right out Hitlers Mein
Kampf. Trump, like Hitler, appeals to emotion because passion is far stronger than reason. When
discussing war propaganda, Hitler describes the masses as so feminine by nature and attitude
that sober reasoning determines their thoughts and actions far less than emotion and feeling
(137). Trump seems to follow this line of reasoning which is why Trumps pejorative yet simple

language has made him so successful. Trump rarely discusses in detail his plans his proposed
political policies. This is because he has rhetorically set himself up so he doesnt need to. The
American public is so taken with Donald Trumps bombast that they dont even realize that he
isnt as upfront and honest as they think, which is another major idea that Hitler had about
propaganda. Hitler wrote that all propaganda must be popular and its intellectual level must be
adjusted to the most limited intelligence among those it is addressed to (135). Larger words are
more descriptive and precise, but it also far less accessible to a nation where nearly half the
population cannot read at an eighth grade level (Staggering Illiteracy Statistics). It is easy to
see how an unsophisticated and unhappy population can be so easily swayed.
Trump uses repetition to further appeal to the audiences emotions. Trump often repeats
pejorative language in order to continuously play on the audiences sense of fear or anger.
According to Crowley and Hawhee, repetition is a means of calling attention to words and ideas
that are important (264). The amount times Trump repeats himself is astounding. In the
beginning of his speech before Trump officially announces for president, he says We need
somebody that can take the brand of the United States and make it great again. Its not great. We
need, we need, we need somebody that literally will take this country and make it great again
(Trump para. 49-50). What ideas are important in this phrase? The repetition of the phrase We
need suggests that America is need of a great leader. Without explicitly saying it at this
particular moment, Trumps instills in the mind of the audience that he is that great leader. Later
he says Weve got $18 trillion in debt, weve got nothing but problems. Weve got a military
that needs equipment all over the place. Weve got nuclear weapons that are obsolete. Weve got
nothing. The repetition of Weve got coincides with Trumps appeal to pathos. In this
particular instance, his use of repetition perpetrates the idea that the United States has nothing

but problems and is in a state of desperation. The repetition of Weve got appeals to the
audiences sense of urgency and fear. Trump has a habit of punctuating each argument with
short, declarative sentences. And then he often repeats them (Stevenson n.p.). This makes his
statements and ideas more memorable, because his arguments are already short and easy to
remember so repetition leaves Trumps words stuck in the audiences mind like a catchy song.
Trumps use of repetition in conjunction with pejorative language never gives the audience to
rationalize his statements. This was another rhetorical technique that Hilter utilized concerning
propaganda. Trump isnt perpetrating war propaganda, but Hitlers view on rhetoric and
propaganda were often indistinguishable (Loebs 5). Trump may not have the same goals as
Hitler, but there is no doubt that the means by which they gain power are similar.
Hitler and Trump effectively use repetition to strengthen their rhetorical appeal. In Mein
Kampf, Hitler writes the most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one
fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly and with unflagging attention. It must confine
itself to a few points and repeat them over and over (138). Given that Hitler viewed the
receptivity of the masses as very limited, their intelligence is small, but their power of forgetting
is enormous, he argued that it is necessary to harp on these in slogans until the last member of
the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan (135). Trump
essentially carries out the same method as Hitler. Trump uses repetition in conjunction with his
pejorative language. For example, when Trump says How stupid are our leaders? How stupid
are these politicians to allow this to happen? How stupid are they? (para. 59). He repeats the
word stupid to drive home the idea that American politicians are ineffective.
Ultimately, Donald Trumps announcement to run for president speech has been
indicative of the rhetorical techniques that he has used throughout his presidential campaign.

Trumps method of pejorative language and repetition have proven to be highly effective. They
are techniques that have been around for ages as can be seen with the rhetorical similarities of
Hitler and Trump. The reception Trump received after his announcement show the deceptiveness
of his methods. It is widely acknowledged that Trump does not speak the political vernacular and
is actually quite crass, but his crassness is part of his charisma. It comes off as strong and
unyielding which is exactly what the American public craves. Perhaps a more educated populace
and a better political system would have routed out a character like Trump, but American distrust
toward political rhetoric and disappointment with establishment politicians have allowed
extremism to flourish. Perhaps if the general population were more educated on the power of
rhetoric, then someone like Trump or even Hitler may not have been successful. Two orators,
different times and personalities, but similar rhetorical techniques. Perhaps if the American
public wasnt so blindly distrustful of political rhetoric, they would understand the manipulative
power of Trumps words. Pathos is important to a good piece of rhetoric, but it can prove to be
dangerous if unchecked. The appeal to emotion needs to coincide with both ethos and logos in
order to bring back to reality.

Works Cited
Crilly, Rob. Donald Trump's rise is perfectly understandable, not a sign that America has gone
Mad. The Telegraph. The Telegraph, 15 March 2016. Web. 13 April 2016
Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. 5th ed.
Saddle River: Pearson, 2012. Print.
Goldenberg, Kira. It's not the 1930s. But Donald Trump should scare us all the same. The
Guardian, The Guardian. 28 March 2016. Web. April 13 2016.
Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf. Trans. James Murphey. 1939. Web. 13 April 2016
Loebs, Bruce. Hitlers Rhetorical Theory. Relevant Rhetoric: A New Journal of
Rhetorical Studies (2010): 1-10. Web. 13 April 2016.
Stevenson, Peter. We noticed Donald Trump says a lot of things twice. He says a lot of things
twice. The Washington Post, The Washington Post. 15 January 2016. Web. 13 April
2016
Heres Donald Trumps Presidential Announcement Speech. Time. Time, 16 June 2015. Web.
17 April 2016.
Staggering Illiteracy Statistics. Literacy Project Foundation. Literacy Project Foundation, n.d.
Web. 13 April 2016.
Stevenson, Peter. We noticed Donald Trump says a lot of things twice. He says a lot of things

twice. The Washington Post. The Washington Post, 15 January 2016. Web. 13 April
2016