The Flip
After the third and final presidential debate in Arizona last Wednesday, Trump, as expected, managed to lose many of his Latino/Hispanic voters due to his harsh comments on his immigration policy. The debate did, in fact, revolve around immigration policy, so naturally this speech was critical for him to win new voters and keep old ones. The main issue was that Trump began unleashing harsh law enforcements on all immigrants regardless of whether or not they were truly criminals or just ordinary people who had come to the U.S. to raise their families. It was expected that as Trump’s last time to speak about the topic that he would choose to soften his policies slightly enough to gain lost voters, but he managed to do the opposite. Many Latinos were so outraged at his harshness that they have stopped supporting Trump. One man, Massey Villarreal, stated that, “As a compassionate conservative, I am very disappointed with the immigration speech. I’m going to flip, but not flop. I am no longer supporting Trump, but cannot with any conscience support Hillary Clinton.” Trump’s mistake was failing to use the rhetorical strategy that sometimes it is necessary to lie to persuade voters’ opinion. Dr. Panetta mentioned in class that one of the most critical aspects in a president is knowing when it is time to lie and being convincing about it. In this scenario, even if Trump hasn’t changed his views on immigration, he should have softened the blow just a little to gain the last bit of voters that he needed. Instead, he lashed out at the immigrants again and wasted his opportunity for persuasion.
The Flop – Will votes move in Hillary’s Direction?
The rising question is where will these “lost voters” go? Though voters such as Villarreal claim that they will not vote for Hillary, is it possible that they be swayed in her direction as time moves on? Hillary used the simple yet critical rhetorical strategy of being the most likeable candidate in the room, which allowed her to win the debate very easily. Even if you don’t agree with someone’s policies, it is easier to vote for someone who is likeable than someone who trash talks a large portion of the people in the country. Additionally, Trump lost out rhetorically when attempting to meet campaign expectations, which is an essential aspect to the General Election Stage. He even lost some of his non-Latino conservative voters! The point of this stage in the campaign is to reassure his voters, not to have them changing their minds now! Jacob Monty who advises Trump on immigration said he believes that Trump only listens to whoever spoke to him last. When Trump returned from his trip to Mexico that boosted his campaign with the Latinos, he was applying softer policies. However, after speaking to FAIR and Numbers USA who advocate harsh immigrant enforcement, he went back to his ruthless policies. Trump rhetorically lacks consistency in what he says each time we hear him speak. It does appear that he is strongly influenced by his most recent activity before the debate or speech. For those voters who have sided against Trump, where will they go if they can’t support Hillary but still want to vote? Will Trump’s self-destruction be in her favor or will it only cause many voters to be stuck in the middle voting for a random third party or not voting at all?
You make a great point about voting for someone who is more likeable, rather than voting for someone who trashes others even if your policies align with theirs. I have several friends who disagree with Obama’s policies, but would rather see him serve a third term than see either of our current candidates take office. I think Trump’s harsh rhetoric has absolutely turned voters away — especially “compassionate conservatives” — who probably would have voted Republican had another candidate won the nomination. I’m not exactly sure where these disappointed voters will go, but if they can’t stomach Trump or Hillary, they can take a look at third parties.
It is interesting to me how you noted Trump did not soften on the issue of immigration in the final debate. I feel like for him to have any chance to win he should have gone closer to the center in an attempt to gain more support from the middle. The voters he is pleasing with the extreme talk on immigration are going to vote for him no matter what so he should try to gain more votes by moving a bit towards the center.
Sometimes I just wonder if he really wants to win with the things that he says. As a PR major, I know the value of sugarcoating things and I really just wonder where his PR people went to school and how they stand working for someone that probably doesn’t listen to a single word they say.