The Democratic party nominated Hillary Clinton to hopefully inherit the presidency from the Barack Obama. While Obama had little trouble galvanizing the African-American vote, Clinton has struggled to do the same, especially in the battle-ground state, Ohio. In order to change this, Clinton invited Lebron James to campaign for her at her rally in Cleveland, Ohio. Lebron James accepted the invitation and employed the rhetoric of ethos and martyria on Clinton’s behalf.

Ethos

Lebron James grew up in Akron, Ohio. He was raised by a single mother in an inner city neighborhood. James acknowledged this and the odds against him in his NBA Finals Speech in 2013, “I’m LeBron James. From Akron, Ohio. From the inner city. I am not even supposed to be here.” Yet, James beat the odds, embraced basketball, and is now one of the best basketball players in the National Basketball Association. In 2016, James led the Cavaliers to Cleveland’s first NBA title, immediately becoming the hometown hero. James did not forget his humble beginning though. James even made his own foundation with the goal of helping children in Ohio who came from backgrounds similar to his. Essentially, James provided hope and help for the people of Ohio on the court and off the court. This in turn served to build up his ethos among Ohioans.

Martryia 

Clinton’s recent message to African-American voters is to vote. James’ seized the opportunity at the rally to further this message through the use of martyria. In rhetoric, martyria is confirming something based on their personal experience. James declared, “The number one main reason I’m here is because of Hillary and what she believes in. I want people to understand now I grew up in the inner city. And I know the whole notion of getting out and voting. And I was one of those kids, and I was around a community, that was like, our vote doesn’t matter. But it really does. It really, really does. We have to get out and make sure we vote.” In his message, James referred to his past experience and his past belief that his vote did not matter. He used his ethos and martyria to acknowledge the audience’s belief and relate to them. James then took it a step farther to confirm that their votes matter and inspire people to vote.  Through these two rhetorical devices, Lebron James successfully encouraged Ohioans to vote, just like Clinton hoped.

It’s the end of October, but not the end of October surprises. This past weekend the Clinton campaign received a blow when the F.B.I. announced they were re-opening their investigation of Clinton’s emails after new emails were discovered on Anthony Weiner’s computer. This has caused media and news outlets to seek comments from Clinton’s surrogates, including Joe Biden, who responded with paromologia and exouthenismos rhetoric in an interview.

Paromologia

Michael Smerconish interviewed the current Vice President Joe Biden, and they discussed a wide range of issues. Unsurprisingly, the most recent October surprise came up in their conversation. Biden echoed Clinton’s call for the F.B.I. to publicly release the emails they discovered. However, he also added his own two cents. Smerconish commented that if Clinton had released her emails in the beginning, these current email revelations would not pose a problem. Biden replied, “Well that’s true, but I don’t know where these emails came from.” The Vice President employed paromologia in his response. In rhetoric, paromologia happens when one admits to a lesser point in order to make a more important point. Biden conceded the smaller argument about Clinton releasing her emails in an effort to continue the Clinton campaign narrative that no one knows details about the emails and they are inconsequential, which he attempted to do when he said he did not know where the emails came from.

 

Exouthenismos

Biden changed his rhetorical response when Smerconish told him the emails came from Anthony Weiner. He then used exouthenismos, which is an expression of contempt in rhetoric. Biden responded with, “Well, oh God, Anthony Weiner. I should not comment on Anthony Weiner. I’m not a big fan. I wasn’t before he got in trouble. So I shouldn’t comment on Anthony Weiner.” This was a good rhetorical move because it condemned Weiner. More importantly, it shifted the focus from Clinton to Weiner and his character instead. Though Smerconish went on the attack in the interview, Biden held his own through his rhetorical application of paromologia and exouthenismos.

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.

White, moderate women are a key demographic in this election, and their vote will likely decide the winner of the 2016 election. The Clinton campaign recognizes this, and Clinton and her surrogates are aggressively attacking Trump’s treatment and view of women. They hope their rhetorical use of bdelygmia and enthymeme will persuade women to vote against Trump in November.

Bdelygmia

Throughout his campaign, Trump has maintained his respect for women. CNN even compiled a video of him stating his respect multiple times. However, the same day the CNN video aired, Access Hollywood released tapes that feature Trump bragging about his scandalous treatment of women, including kissing them and grabbing them in their private area. According to Clinton’s surrogates this disclaim employed bdelygmia. Bdelygmia takes place when someone expresses disgust about a person, thing, or action. While referencing the lewd tapes in a speech she was giving in Manchester, New Hampshire, Michelle Obama admitted, “I can’t stop thinking about this. It has shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn’t have predicted.” President Obama told a crowd in North Carolina, “You don’t have to be a husband or a father to hear what we heard just a few days ago and say, ‘that’s not right.’” Both Obamas are using bdelygmia in an effort to fuel the abhorrence many potential voters, especially women, feel, and guide their support away from Trump.

Enthymeme

In addition to bdelymgmia, Clinton surrogates are applying enthymemes in their rhetoric. The narrative of the enthymeme is essentially: women cannot trust Trump to be a good president. Trump harasses women. The audience is meant to fill in the part that those who harass women cannot be trusted to be president. Michelle Obama used a little boy’s words to implement this enthymeme in her New Hampshire speech. She described, “And the little boy, out of the blue, said, ‘I think Hillary Clinton will be President.’ And his mom said, ‘Well, why do you say that?’ And this little six-year-old said, ‘Because the other guy called someone a piggy, and,’ he said, ‘you cannot be President if you call someone a piggy.”’ The ultimate goal is for women to fill in the blank of the enthymeme and decide they cannot trust a man who harasses women to be the next president, and cannot vote for Donald Trump as a result of this realization.

One of Hillary Clinton’s election strategies is to convince voters that Donald Trump is unfit to be president. She and her surrogates utilize several rhetorical means to accomplish, including fallacies. This past Monday, Vice President Biden launched a foray of Ad-Hominem and Slippery Slope fallacies against Trump at a rally in Sarasota, Florida.

Sunshine State’s Significance

Florida is a key target for Clinton and Trump. This map from  270towin.com, shows the swing states of the the 2016 Presidential election as of August 4, 2016 below.

As a swing state, Florida plays a vital role in deciding the election winner. Biden acknowledged this at the rally, “You have an incredible opportunity here, as usual, Florida holds the key…Hillary wins Florida, there is absolutely zero path, zero path for this man to make it to the White House.” Triumphing over Trump in Florida, ultimately provides Clinton with a huge win and denies Trump crucial electoral votes.

Ad-Hominems Abound

Clinton continuously attacks Trump’s sanity and presidential caliber. After Trump’s tweets about former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, Clinton responded with her own tweet that called Trump “unhinged.” The full tweet can be accessed at this link: https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/781869125903773696. Biden continued this narrative Monday with ad-hominems. An ad-hominem fallacy attacks a person or their character. According to the article, “VP Biden campaigns for Hillary Clinton” by John Rogers, “Biden questioned Trump’s temperament to be president, citing the 3 a.m. Twitter rant the Republican frontrunner spouted about the former Miss Universe.” Biden later stated, “It bothers me, his lack of any sensibilities to what the American spirit is.” These qualify as ad-hominems because they address Trump’s temperament and empathy, rather than his policy. You can read Biden’s other statements about Trump at this link: http://wfla.com/2016/10/03/vp-biden-to-campaign-for-hillary-clinton-in-sarasota-monday/.

Fear the Slippery Slope

Biden committed another rhetorical sin when he employed a slippery slope to incite fear among voters. He warned, “Everything you worked for, not a joke, in heartbeat, will be wiped out. Not only economically in terms of foreign policy, but in terms of rational social progress, civil rights, civil liberties.” A slippery slope assumes that one event will lead to a disastrous event that snowballs from there. Biden wants the crowd to assume electing Trump will cause the collapse of almost every aspect of American life. Yet, he provides no evidence for this claim.

Followup

While voters may accept Biden’s fallacies, they are not acceptable in the rhetorical realm. Voters must be wary of these tactics employed by surrogates like Biden. They should not base their votes on fallacies. Instead, people should look beyond the fallacies at the candidate’s policies and positions, and base their decisions off of sound rhetoric. I encourage those who attended the rally in Sarasota, and voters in general, to check the facts and the rhetoric.