The Clinton Campaign is swinging for the fences in an attempt to swing traditionally red states to blue states, especially Arizona. Chelsea Clinton recently attended a rally at Arizona State University in order to galvanize young, college age voters’ support for her mother. She appealed to these voters largely through the tone of her setting and her use of pathos.
The Setting
The current campaign cycle is thick with tension and negativity. However, Chelsea Clinton deviated from this at the ASU rally. The room at the ASU rally held only 750 people. This provided a more intimate setting than most Hillary Clinton rallies. The ASU rally atmosphere set the stage for a more personal connection between Chelsea Clinton and the audience. Clinton even wore a t-shirt to send the message the rally was meant to be a laid back discourse between her and the audience. The rhetorical gamble of the casual setting paid off, and resonated with audience members. Yudidt Nonthe, an 18 year-old student at ASU, noticed Clinton’s wardrobe choice, and stated,, “I feel like it was total conversation between everyone. The room was super friendly … She was super genuine and kind.” Clinton’s implementation of a low key, personal setting successfully made people comfortable. This is in turn, helped them connect to Clinton and her message because she appeared relatable, trustworthy, and as one of them.
Pathos
In addition to the tame setting she created, Chelsea Clinton reached out to voters through pathos. According to Arizona Central, the majority of the audience’s main concern was “higher education funding.” Clinton talked about her mother’s plan for free college, and she used to pathos to help the idea resonate with the young adults in the room. Clinton proclaimed, “Being too intimidated by the cost of education should not determine what your dreams are.” This statement appealed to positive emotions like will power and happiness and dismissed the emotions of fear and uncertainty caused by lack of funds for colleges. Clinton’s pathos gave people an idea of the hope that comes with the election of Clinton, and a reason why they should vote for her. After the rally, Nonthe said, “Her daughter made me feel way better about my decision.” In all, Clinton’s discourse and employment of pathos served to convince people of her message and ease their fears.
Do you think Hillary has her young daughter as a surrogate because she personally doesn’t know how to relate to younger voters? Her daughter isn’t the one becoming president so she needs to learn to be relatable to all ages on her own. When advocating for her mother’s idea about “free education” I bet she left out all the details about how citizens will be paying for this said education by their tax dollars. As a college student, you only hear what you want to hear which is FREE education which is automatically going to lure in more voters for her.