In a society that is plagued by a seemingly ever increasing division of racial tension, this divide has not skipped the Presidential election process.
Secretary Hillary Clinton and business man Donald Trump have an extremely polar opposite voting base when it comes to race.
In this election Donald Trump rhetorically serves the role of a White supremacy culture in the eyes of the American Public. Many of his most outlandish statements resemble the opinions and fearful reactive comments of a challenged culture. For the United States public, he is the symbol of Caucasian dominance and cultural intolerance. In This Race Is About Race, by Susan Milligan, she discusses how Trump is supported by several racially intolerant groups. This has sparked a whole new discussion to this election. This election turned into the idea of being racially tolerant or being intolerant of diversity. This rhetoric has shifted many votes throughout the election.
Donald Trump gives Hillary the perfect backdrop to be seen as the racially just candidate. In this election her ratings with the African American and Latino voters are extraordinary. This shows a strong level of distaste by those groups towards Trump. She is rhetorically placed into the concept of being the resistance of Caucasian supremacy. This is important because rhetorically she is now synonymous with racial acceptance for many voters. That changed many voters opinions from this being a general election to a moral vote. This alignment by Trump rhetorically shifted the voting lense of many voters. This is most interesting because of how the association of these societally agreed upon, “negative groups” can shift the rhetorical nature of the whole argument.
I think you put that perfectly about Trump. I think with his earlier comments about other minority groups in the election has painted this image that he is a racist. He excites a select population, however the general audience would find offense to his statements. I think it is hard to change that image and I would hate to be his PR rep. when it comes to racially charged issues. It was easy for Clinton to create Trump as a racist based on his pervious rhetoric, and an easy opportunity for her to place herself as the candidate for race.