Reflection on Trump's Presidential Nomination Speech

 Despite questionable campaign policies, Donald Trump's Presidential Nomination Speech, delivered on July 21, 2016, can be considered successful as it accomplished its goal of informing the voters of his views on America's most pressing issues. He was able to do this by including all three parts of the rhetorical triangle and thus focusing on the speaker, the audience and the subject. His use of ethos, pathos and logos allowed him to prey on the audience's fears about the country they live in. Trump easily established his credibility when he states, "I have made billions of dollars in business making deals – now I’m going to make our country rich again." In this example Trump deftly uses his success as an accomplished businessman to build his credibility as a leader.
 He also deployed logos by bringing up facts about the problems America faces today. For instance, Trump mentions the country's increasing homicide rates and states that "in our nation's capital, killings have risen by 50 percent. They are up nearly 60'% in Baltimore." This information is used to remind the audience that they are in need of someone that is aware of these problems and has the power to do something about them. Lastly, Trump also employs pathos to appeal to the audiences sentiment. The emotion that Trump appeals to most is fear and this is quite evident in his word choice, At one point Trump claims that, "Our Convention occurs at a moment of crisis for our nation. The attacks on our police, and the terrorism in our cities, threaten our very way of life. Any politician who does not grasp this danger is not fit to lead our country." Words such as "crisis", "attacks", "terrorism" and the phrase "threaten our way of life" are used to instill a sense of fear in the audience. Ultimately, by addressing the audience, subject and himself, the speaker, trump was able to make his speech effective and achieve his goal of getting his message out to the voters.