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Rhetorical Analysis Of Trump's Inaugural Address

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Rhetorical Analysis Of Trump's Inaugural Address
President Donald J. Trump has certainly been one of the most controversial and outspoken candidates in United States history, and given that reputation one would expect nothing less from him for his inaugural address. While one could certainly decide how well Trump’s speech went based on party affiliations, most Americans will analyze the speech itself for the answer. By understanding Aristotle’s three modes of persuasion ( logos, ethos, and pathos) one can investigate how much of a success Trump’s speech truly was.
President Trump’s use of logos in his inaugural address is quite exiguous, which reflects negatively on the speech as whole, since logos is an imperative part of rhetorics. In the 2017 inaugural address, President Trump was vastly …show more content…
In his speech, President Trump made promises such as, “America will start winning again, winning like never before,” and, “I will fight for you with every breath in my body and I will never ever let you down.” These quotes accurately demonstrate the use of pathos, since they are quite passionate and are precisely aimed at getting an emotional response from the audience. Following these statements, President Trump again used pathos when he declared “When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.” President Trump uses this proclamation to drive home the motive behind his address, to not only electrify the audience about his presidency but America as a nation. Although Trump used pathos correctly in his speech, his excessive use of this literary device creates an insipid and redundant inaugural address, due to his lack of content. Several educational state, “Many texts from the modern press or politicians are heavily dependent on pathos appeals. Appeals to pathos touch an emotional nerve and compel people to not only listen, but to also take the next step and act in the world” (“Understanding Modes of Rhetorical Appeal: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos”). Pathos is needed for a compelling rhetoric, however when one solely relies on this device, it can have the opposite of the desired impact, and showcase an inadequate speech
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