Untrustworthy Trumps America

As we all should know, Donald Trump is our next president of the United States. Untrustworthy and change has indeed won over the hearts of the American people and the oval office. Exit polling has shown how Trump made history Wednesday morning by pulling off one of the most improbable election victories. His win caught us all by surprise, we thought so many people were going against him after his comments and scandals, but in the end, did they really?

Exit polling showed that 49 percent of white college graduates voted for Trump and 45 percent of them said they voted for Clinton. Though we didn’t think that white college graduates would support Trump, according to many class discussions, this was not the case. However, him not winning much of the minority parties was one correct aspect that was called by many people prior to Election Day. Many people were not particularly enthusiastic about any candidate, but they still decided that Trump was the lesser of the two evils and most of them still voted for Trump.

With the many October surprises, and Trump’s consistent rhetoric about crooked Hillary, he set up a nearly perfect rhetorical situation for the country to partake in. Through his speeches, his tone in campaign commercials, and day-to-day activity, he made America feel as though it was not safe and his enthymematic slogan, “Make America Great Again,” did nothing but helped feed into this narrative. Though Trump seemed as though he didn’t have all his marbles throughout the campaign, his lack of “mouthing off” and controlling himself made voters see the man he could really be, and therefore he won their vote.

Trump had a big lead among people who said they dislike both candidates.

Donald Trump may not have been everyone’s favored candidate, but he is the one who pulled out the win. As predicted in class, America wants to see change, and change is definitely what’s in store. At the end of the day, Americans favored Trump’s untrustworthiness over Hillary’s instability.

Trump’s “Opportunity Model” regarding Terrorism

When Opportunity knocks on your door, you answer it with assertive confidence. Donald Trump is turning his view on Terrorism into an opportunistic view in regards that he is not going to sit back and wait but going to be forceful and take charge of the situation. Hillary and Trump view the terroristic aspect differently in regards that “Hillary views it as a grievance regard, where it occurs because of injustice. While Trump sees it as opportunity in that terrorist see a opportunity to thrive so they attack.”

Donald Trump sets the bar high when it comes to his force to be used to secure America and make our country a safe Nation once again. Although both Candidates are basically attacking the same problem, they are attacking it with different mechanisms. Donald is leaning more toward the alliances of more Middle- East countries and implying a more “Extreme Vetting” that will prevent terroristic threats or groups to get into the country.

Clinton, however, wanted to bring in the refugees of the Syrian/Muslim population, but if that was allowed then it puts us at risk of more terrorist to invade into our country. She is wanting to allow this to happen because the people will feel empathy and want to be behind her to let these “Innocent” people enter out nation but who knows who could really be coming onto our soil.

Our nation needs a firm stand on the situation of terrorism and Donald Trump understands the force that is required to have the people believe he has what it takes.

Mind Trumped. :0

I think its safe to say that no one saw this coming. 538 amongst other polling websites predicted that Trump had less than a 1/4 of a chance of winning the election & then it happened. They were all wrong. While America’s staggering reaction showed just how surprising the election results were to a huge percentage of the population, more emotions have arose since Trump’s victory. We are now seeing more feelings of nervousness and despair amongst immigrants & their loved ones, stronger than they ever were before.

As light is being shed on the worry that immigrants are now facing, we are lead to the question.. What can we expect? What version of Donald Trump will be get? Better yet, what version of Trump’s immigration reform will we get?! Will we get the fear mongering Trump who promised the country a concrete wall to keep immigrants out? Or will we get the man who got softer on immigration reform as his campaigning came to a close and his need for votes grew? These are all real questions that teachers have been asked by Latino students of middle and high schools in Denver within the past 24 hours.

Unfortunately, even amidst the times that Trump attempted to dissociate himself from his early campaign rhetoric, his love for hyperboles have always overcome his ability to stay quiet in order to gain a bigger portion of the Latino vote. As Trump’s promise to remove ALL undocumented immigrants IMMEDIATELY has silently wavered, some new and less drastic (still drastic, though) promises emerged toward the end of Trumps’ campaign. First, Trump vows to remove ALL illegal immigrants with any criminal background, including people with violations as small as speeding tickets. NEXT, Trump assured his Trumpians that he will suspend all immigration from areas of the world that are terror-prone, Syria in particular. Next, Trump will increase the depth of all immigration inspections. But here is the kicker… Trumps says that all of these things will be completed within the first 24 hours that he is in office. And lastly, Trump promises, though it won’t be immediate, that the wall will be built.

So there ya have it. These are the changes that our beloved, new president have in store for our country. While people are terrified, these promises give warrant to their terror. Lets hope that his promises are as fake as his spray tan, for the hard working immigrants that developed and continue to develop this country.. #TrumpTrain

They work, and it worked

Last night it was finally revealed after this long campaign season that Donald Trump is our president-elect. This was a surprise to many pollsters , and I think a surprise to many Americans as well. We’ve seen throughout this whole season that Mr. Trump was appealing to the white working class, as this article says he “…won virtually every state from Appalachia to the Rockies” because of the Americans that make “real, tangible things — food, fiber, energy and manufactured goods”.

I’ve wondered what made this demographic in particular vote for Trump, not just based on his promises to “bring jobs back to America” or the fear of losing their jobs to overseas workers- but the root of the anxiety of the future and the root of the hate for Hillary Clinton.

I think that when it came down to it, Clinton was far too elitist regarding education. Her deplorable comment combined with her supporter’s comments that Trump supporters are all “uneducated” angered and isolated the working class who might not have a college degree. In fact it was shown in this article, how the largest group of voters in this election were white voters with “no college”. These voters clung to Trumps promises for the future because they felt it included them and they were not being patronized in the same way they were if Clinton took office.

It was not just the industries they worked in that pushed the right, but also the self pride in their work rather than their schooling that made them align against a “liberal elite”.

President Trump’s Supreme Court

Against seemingly insurmountable odds, Donald Trump has been elected the next President of the United States. Up until late Tuesday evening, a Trump presidency never truly seemed like a realistic possibility. National polls didn’t give him much of a chance, most experts pointed to a Clinton election but as the saying goes, “you never know what can happen”. Now that we know who our next president will be, it’s important to start looking towards the future. A power shift in the Supreme Court seems likely and Trump will almost certainly appoint a conservative nominee to fill the void left by the recently deceased Antonin Scalia. Only time will tell what exactly a Trump presidency means for the Supreme Court.

Mr. Trump’s election represents a lost opportunity for liberals, and they are fearful of what comes next at the Supreme Court. According to the New York Times, there could be a significant power shift in the Supreme Court were there to be another vacancy under Trump’s presidency. That appears entirely possible. As for the implications, they remain to be seen. Taking a look at the rhetoric behind all of this is the next important step for us to take at this time.

Rhetorical Implications

Throughout this election, Trump has regularly expressed how important the state of the Supreme Court is to him. By using persuasive language and trying to construct arguments to support his potential nominees, he has set the stage for a strong argument. Whether people believe he’s right or wrong, he has frequently relied on metaphors and other rhetorical devices to appeal to his audience. At the end of the day, whether you agree with him or not, the rhetorical stage has been set.

Progressive Millennials Prove to be a Solid Match for Hillary

*Editor’s note: I wrote this piece before the election took place, so I apologize if the rhetoric is not indicative to the post-election outcome.*

The massive surge of millennial support created by Bernie Sanders should have proved to be a harbinger for both candidates; young voters are ready for a more progressive political agenda. Millennials have been very active in their support of governmental responsibility to provide insurance, per PewResearchCenter. Also, young voters have put emphasis on providing more financial support towards today’s youth, for greater social mobility and direct profit.

Why do these issues coalesce nicely with Hillary Clinton? On Clinton’s main website, she has, “… a comprehensive plan to put higher education within reach for all Americans, and take on the crisis of student debt.” Her promise to invest large amounts of federal funding to alleviate the burden of tuition falls in line perfectly with millennials demands for financial investment. https://www.facebook.com/hillaryclinton/videos/1084864358236759/ (*video for college affordability). In terms of insurance, Clinton’s continuation of the Affordable Health Care Act is the most blatant example of universal insurance coverage for all Americans. https://youtu.be/jXE1Ik3oSMc (Hillary Clinton Health Care video).

Two of these major platforms, among other issues, has Clinton holding a 49 to 21 percent among voters under 30, per Harvard University Institute of Politics. While young voters advocate a more progressive platform, she has tended to struggle with undecided voters due to her “far left wing” approach on multiple social issues (gay marriage, abortion). In fact, undecided/independent voters have grown from a margin of 9 percent in 2012 to a more substantial number of 30 percent.

While not as progressive as Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton’s political platform caters to a young generation eager for governmental involvement and expansion. With more young, college educated women trending towards a democratic candidate, it would seem to place Hillary Clinton in a very nice spot with many millennials come Election Day.

Closing Remarks from a Hard-Fought Battle

After nearly 18 months of campaigning, fundraising, and debating, the hard fought election has finally come to a conclusion with an incredibly controversial candidate emerging victorious. In a rather surprising turn of events, Republican candidate Donald Trump won the electoral vote by a very large margin, leading many to question how the media had so poorly predicted the results and so badly misrepresented the feelings of the people of the United States. Wins and losses present interesting rhetorical situations for both parties. Candidates must choose whether to handle themselves with dignity and class or with harsh criticisms of the system and the other parties. In this situation, both Mike Pence of the Republican Party and Democrat Vice Presidential candidate Tim Kaine both spoke with class and optimism for the future as they learned of the election outcome. Pence obviously had the easier of the two jobs as his party was celebrating victory but he chose to focus on themes that had run throughout the 2016 Presidential campaign: “Making America Great Again”, working Americans finally getting their say, and the importance of family and faith. Pence started by saying, “This is a historic night. The American people have spoken and the American people have elected their new champion.” On Pence’s behalf, this was a very strong rhetorical approach to take in speaking on Trump’s victory. In what some may call the most divisive election in our great country’s history, Pence focused on how Trump’s election was the doing of the people and now Trump and the Republican party were going to work for them. The rest of his speech he kept short and sweet, thanking God for “his amazing grace” and for the support of his family with whom he could not have survived this difficult year and a half without.

Kaine, on the other hand, had a much more difficult rhetorical situation on his hands. In the face of defeat, he had a choice to make as to what to say in his introduction of Clinton. While it angered many that Kaine and his Presidential counterpart did not speak last night, it was probably a strong move as it allowed the two candidates to not speak solely on emotion nor to party members and supporters who were hurting from the initial sting of the outcome. Kaine’s focus was on how proud he and his family were of Hillary Clinton and the history that had been made by having a female candidate run for President and win the popular vote of Americans. Kaine then took a subtle jab that may have been rooted in anger of their expected win, saying “She has made history in a nation that is so good in so many things, but has made it so uniquely difficult for a women to make it into a federal office…” While Kaine’s point does not lack validity, this was not the reason that the Democrats were giving Concession speeches. Overall, Kaine’s speech was very good as he thanked the Clinton’s for choosing him and his family, quoted scripture, and thanked the American people for their support. Even in the face of defeat, a bitter Kaine carried himself with class.

Overall, the two Vice Presidential candidates carried themselves with class and dignity on this final day of the Presidential election in the same fashion as they have this entire campaign. Both Tim Kaine and Mike Pence have played and will continue to play strong rhetorical positions when it comes to supporting their Presidential counterparts and their respective parties.

To watch either Pence’s or Kaine’s speech, click on their names and you will be directed to a website where you can watch and learn more surrounding the two speeches and candidates.

Hip(ocrite)-Hop Music

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Trump surrogates have been adamant about their “defense” (if you want to call it that) for the now… President-Elect Donald Trump. Before the election last night though, an interesting attack on hip-hop artists Jay-Z and Beyonce surfaced after the married duo performed at a Cleveland, Ohio rally for Hillary Clinton just days before the election. Many of the surrogates including Trump campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, shamed Hillary for the choice of these artists and their lyrics saying, “because our children are listening” right Hillary?”. Scottie Nell Hughes continues this argument as well digging deep into the hard right Trump supporters identifying well with the evangelical-Christian audience as she slams Hillary’s choice of musical guests. She goes on to say, “As an Evangelical Christian, I can actually say I think he was more bothered by the multiple uses of the ‘M-F-word’ that night and the N-word that was used, within the lyrics in the songs” (speaking about Trump being bothered). While I find this highly tunnel-visioned and hypocritical, it is a hallmark example of rhetorical disassociation used for the past years and a half by Trump and his surrogates. By slamming Hillary for bringing in hip-hop artists who use expletives in their music and weeding out the fact that Trump himself has multiple videos of him using the exact same language shows that disassociation that doubles down on their Trump cause now and as he eventually becomes the 45th president..

What this does now that the election is over? Well, I can’t say for sure. It has alienated much of pop culture (for better or worse) with Trump openly mocking Clinton, boasting to a crowd in Grand Rapids, Michigan on election day yesterday, “We don’t need Jay Z or Beyoncé… We don’t need Jon Bon Jovi. We don’t need Lady Gaga. All we need is great ideas to make America great again”. While this is identification, it’s identifying with those who conspire against the “liberal media”, “liberal Hollywood” and pop culture. He finds the common value of mostly an older generation who hates pop culture along with younger voters who might feel they are cool or on the “in-crowd” by associating with “great ideas” and “making America great again”.

If I had to guess his rhetoric will continue to divide America on extreme levels. Even if his rhetoric is tamed even a bit, what he has said over the past year has inflamed a scary movement built on fear, divisiveness and anger. That’s something that WON’T “make America great again” or keep the greatness that is the “united” part of our states here in America. What makes this a harder and harder pill to swallow is the real issues that are behind the rage and hate. The real people who have real issues and need desperate help have been hijacked rhetorically and this kind of polarization threatens much of the work our country has done over the past 100 years whether it’s women’s rights, race relations or LGBTQ rights to work for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” for ALL.

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Once again drawing on the now famous answer to any question whether it’s appropriate, makes sense or not at all, Trump and his surrogates want to make America Great Again… I guess now we’ll find out what that means.

Hillary’s Failed Class Action

It is finished.

The race is over and somehow Donald Trump came away as the winner. How did we get here? How, when polls had Clinton winning by up to 84%, did Trump pull off “this amazing political feat”? While there are likely numerous avenues we could look at to determine how this happened, one of particular interest is Hillary’s rhetoric surrounding the middle class.

Class Action

While both Trump and Clinton certainly are far removed from the middle class, both attempted to relate to this pivotal class of voters. Class has perhaps been a bigger factor in this election than any election since the time of the New Deal. As discussed in prior posts, Hillary attempted to appeal to the middle class by painting herself as the motherly type who is a champion for families. She tried to reach out to the youth vote by making college free for those in certain brackets. She counted on the minority vote by highlighting Trump’s own racist comments. But these efforts all failed her. Far from just being a revolt by poor whites mad at the current system, Trump’s win relied on the middle-class, the better-educated, and the well-off. Perhaps Trump’s appeal lies in the simple comparison of his slogan to Clinton’s. While Hillary’s entreaties of “I’m with her” or “Stronger Together” are good ideas, they are just that. Ideas. Trump, on the other hand, had a slogan that incited action. “Make America Great Again” calls for a shift. And in winning this election, we see that Trump managed to make that shift happen.

The Leftover People

One author used the phrase “leftover people” to describe those who led Trump to victory. This is a group that Hillary’s rhetoric failed to reach. The working-class voters listened as Donald promised to bring back mining to coal country and institute extreme vetting on refugees. They cheered as he described a 35% tariff on cars imported from Mexican factories. While this was all happening, Cl hillary-clinton-concession-speech-b8b2deb3-8588-4ad1-a2f0-c33458bb300d inton focused on climate change and the health of corporations. She spoke of a 500% increase in Syrian refugees and global trade. Clinton’s campaign failed because she failed to create a message that appealed directly to the fears of the middle class. Going forward, we can only hope that Donald Trump puts rhetoric into action and realizes that only through uniting our divided country can we actually make America great again. As Hillary Clinton said in her concession speech this morning, “if we stand together and work together with respect for our differences, strength in our convictions, and love for this nation, our best days are still ahead of us.”

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Does Emotion Drive Voters’ Immigration Views?

Since the first pushes for immigration reform in the mid-1800s, immigration policy has increasingly become a core issue in American politics and Presidential elections. Perhaps that has never been more evident than in the 2016 election, as 70 percent of voters say immigration is a “very important factor” in their ballot decision this month.

But where along the way did immigration turn from a fact-based appeal to a more emotional one?

In 2013, evidence of the shift can be found in an appeal for immigration reform by President Obama: “This is not just a debate about policy, it’s about people… who want nothing more than a chance to earn their way into the American story.”

Although this appeal was made in conjunction with bipartisan efforts at immigration reform (an undeniably factual and economical subject of legislature), the language that President Obama used to explain his support was sentimental. He appealed to basic human and American values of inclusivity rather than employing rational argument to feed his particular immigration narrative.

Blanketing immigration issues with emotion is also evident in the 2016 election, especially with candidate Donald Trump. A man who poses himself as a savior to a nation in crisis, Trump’s campaign has been centered around hard-hitting immigration reform and building his infamous wall between America and Mexico.

His opinions are divisive and clear-cut. His processes for achieving his immigration proposals are little less so. So how is Trump’s rhetoric managing to gain traction with voters?

He is successfully appealing to Americans’ – especially conservative Americans – fears that our country isn’t safe. He uses immigrants as pawns and characters in his fear narrative, creating his own definition of them and their threat to “our country as we know it.” In the process, he’s generalized the issue of immigration and especially immigrants themselves. With this generalization, it becomes easier for Americans to turn to emotion rather than facts to make their ballot decision, because the issue has been condensed into a seemingly black and white decision, when it undeniably isn’t so.

Capitalizing on Americans lack of knowledge on the particulars of certain policy issues is nothing new, but with the help of modern media, it’s becoming increasingly easier to win votes based on emotional appeals that are backed with little rational substance.

At our core, humans are emotional beings. As Drew Westen notes in The Political Brain, “In politics, when reason and emotion collide, emotion invariably wins.” This is particularly illustrated with Trump’s immigration narrative in 2016.