Donald Trump’s speeches are notorious, but not in a positive way. His speeches are filled with so much hatred and idiocy that many people are baffled by how he has such a large following. Now, I’m not gonna sit here and talk about the long list of faulty ideologies that Trump supporters have (in fact we already have an article that can be found here about it). Instead, I’m gonna explain his rhetoric and why it is so effective on the general public.
The curiosity of Trump’s effectiveness has caused many professionals to analyze his speeches to understand why he is appealing to so many people. The conclusion they’ve made is that Trump uses types of rhetorical devices called logical fallacies. By definition, fallacies are “an incorrect argument in logic and rhetoric which undermines an argument’s logical validity or more generally an argument’s logical soundness”. Using fallacies in a persuasive manner can be very ineffective, but only when the person being persuaded can identify them.
Donald Trump takes advantage of the fact that an ordinary citizen can easily be fooled and persuaded by logical fallacies.
For example, during this rally in Lynden,Washington, Trump states, “Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment. Hillary Clinton wants to take your guns away, and she wants to abolish the Second Amendment”, which is one of the many fallacies in that speech. This is called the straw man fallacy and they “are usually deployed as a way of making your opponent seem extreme” which make your own argument appear more reasonable and likable. Just because Hillary wants to have more regulations and control over guns, it doesn’t mean she wants to repeal a Constitutional right. But, that is what Trump wants you to believe, and it works.
There’s also the ad hominem fallacy, and it is when you basically completely avoid the argument by attacking your opponent, which Trump uses a lot. Every time he brings up Hillary’s email scandal, or calls her “crooked”, that’s ad hominem.
He never talks about why her ideas and policies are bad, he just attacks her looks, character, and past.
Let’s not forget the time when Trump painted every Mexican as rapists and murders, or when he implies that all Muslims are terrorists. You might of guessed it already, but yes, those are fallacies, more specifically hasty generalizations, and appeals to fear and ignorance. There’s no facts that support that every Mexican or Muslim are these things, but he plays on the preexisting bigotry, xenophobia, and fear of terrorism to make people believe that he’s factual. He falsely generalizes whole groups, and it works because our brains hear these terrifying words, “rapists, murders, terrorists”, and quickly hope that he can keep us safe instead of questioning the faults of his claims.
Trump doesn’t just use fallacies every once in awhile, literally every speech is filled to the brim with long lists of them, some appearing within seconds of the previous. In this video, you can see Trump using 15 fallacies in 3 minutes.
Rhetoric isn’t just about what you say, it’s about how you say it. Research has shown that Trump’s speaking style is more feminine than any other candidate in this election cycle, which works to his advantage. Statistically, women are more likely than men to use shorter, “tentative”, “emotion-laden” words. Women also tend to use the pronoun “I”, prepositions, and articles more often than men. Not only do these elements make for a more feminine linguistic style, they also make what Trump says sound more common and for a lack of a better word: less politician-esque. Why does Trump having a feminine rhetorical style help him?
Studies show that the more feminine a speaker sounds, the more “likable and trustworthy” they seem. The “emotional connectedness and personal vulnerability” of Trump’s feminine speaking style contrast his otherwise misogynist, selfish persona.
So, as bigoted and ignorant as Donald Trump may be, he uses those aspects in a faulty rhetorical manner that somehow work for him. His arguments and persuasion tactics aren’t logical, but they are effective. Don’t let yourself be fooled by his fallacies like many conservative Americans already have.
