Trump’s recent comments in speeches and tweets about the election being rigged while shocking in nature as a candidate for the nation’s highest office, fit a larger and ridiculous narrative doubling down on his audience to keep Hilary voters at home and his fired up to go vote. While it seems many major surrogates for Trump are either pulling their support or magically disappearing, Mike Pence has offered some words of potential clarity acting as Donald Trump’s “anger translator” of sorts to better understand Trump’s message. Trump has repeatedly come out and warned against a rigged election, calling into question the legitimacy and function of our democratic voting process. Mike Pence sorting through Trump’s rigged conspiracy theories is utilizing elements of dissociation to avoid the narrative that Trump is calling into question confidence in our US democracy (one of the elements found in effects of our political debates).
Dissociation:
Pence has responded in multiple interviews saying we “will absolutely accept the results of the election” and sticking to the words from the first debate, “As Donald Trump said in that first debate, and I will say to you today, we will accept the will of the American people”. Mike Pence is attempting to dissociate Trumps current comments about conspiracy of the election and pick apart only elements of bias from the media as the focus on the conspiracy/rigging. Pence goes on in an interview with the Chicago Tribune to argue his point, “the American people are tired of the obvious bias in the national media. That’s where the sense of a rigged election goes here”. Mike Pence’s comments are in an attempt to avoid the next point and issue, an element of effects of our political debates, building confidence in US Democracy.
Building Confidence in US Democracy??
Looking forward through our nation’s disturbing rhetorical political discourse, Trump’s comments offer a chilling prelude to what was said at the end of the third debate tonight with Trump claiming he would evaluate the election results as they came in as to whether he would accept them and move on. A major element of our political debates in the US is to build confidence in our US Democracy, but with statements like that coming from Trump claiming that the whole nation and world is out to get him undermines the function of our debates and calls into question our election process. Not something to be taken lightly. I think Pence in making the comments he did saying they would accept the outcome, it’s one of America’s unique traditions was attempting to keep the Trump election grounded in anyway possible to keep any question away that their campaign doesn’t believe in the US Democratic system. Just like the “Luther” was the angry translator for President Obama at the 2015 White House Corespondents Dinner, Mike Pence has become the “Luther” for Trump. Except this time around it’s no joke and Pence is strategically staying away from the narrative that suggests Trump is questioning our democratic voting system as validated in our political debates that he seems so eager to pick apart like a child.
I really like your point that Pence is in many ways attempting to be the cool, collected part of the Trump campaign. In my opinion, it is ridiculous that he should even have to do this. If someone is going to be elected to be the President of the United States, the people need to be assured that he will not lose his cool every other second. Pence acting as an anger buffer while Trump is just attempting to get into office calls into question what will happen if Trump gets into office. Will Pence always be there to counteract Trump’s angry statements? This is not something that should be left up to chance. If Pence wants to be the voice of reason in this election, he should be running for president. It is absolutely ridiculous that everyone has to keep saving Donald Trump from his own words.