This article examines the candidature of President Donald Trump in the run-up to 2016 United States’ presidential elections. It analyses a televised campaign commercial used by the candidate to appeal to the electorate and possibly influence them at the ballot. The setting of the commercial is in the US and probably at Trump’s headquarters in New York City. The commercial is permeated with mainly Trump’s images with instances indicating a section of his supporters shown at different stages in the video. The commercial opens with Trump’s portrait followed by a voice over claiming Trump’s centrality to making America great again. What follows afterwards is Trump’s voice appealing to the audience to consider giving his candidature a chance at the ballot (“Trump” 2016 Campaign Promo). Promising to make America great again, Trump uses this as a clarion call to appeal to the vast US electorate.
In the televised YouTube video, presidential hopeful in the just concluded 2016 elections, Donald Trump cites a raft of issues he feels should be addressed to enhance the welfare of the American citizens. Foremost in his priority listing as per the video in focus is the issue of immigration. Generally, matters pertaining to immigration have pervaded the conscious of the American society for too long. With the threats around immigration increasingly becoming severe, the present anxiety about the possible dangers posed by these clusters of people could be hard to deny. For instance, it is widely believed that immigrants are the main source of ills, which have permeated the US presently. Alongside social concerns such as drug and human trafficking, immigration is believed to be the fuel behind modern-day terrorism (LeMay 45). Many people believe that immigration play host to numerous socio-economic and political ills, which have bedeviled the American society for too long. The principal focus of the US government is to ensure that the security of the American citizens is not compromised. Candidates to the office of the president have always addressed the issue of homeland security in ways they believe would appeal to the electorate and immigration being ideologically attached to security matters has been too contentious.
Perhaps the best lens under which Donald’s assertions are captured is the concept of Degree of Rationality. While immigration has contributed tremendously to modern-day socio-economic and political ills, which have made the American society to suffer greatly, it is necessary to argue the claim against it rationally. According to Johannesen, Valde, and Whedbee (23), the concept of Degree of Rationality advocates a balanced approach to issues despite how sinister they may sound. Notably, the fundamental democratic merit upon which this concept is based is to enhance the capacity of individuals to reason logically. The concept holds that there exists a prime obligation for a coherent functioning of political systems to spur human welfare. While Trump may have used his televised assertions to enhance his presidential appeal to the electorate, it is highly likely that making the US to do away completely with the immigrants would be hard to achieve. Experience holds that politicians reap heavily from the assertions or pre-election pledges, which resonate more precisely to the needs, demands, or concerns of the moment. The concept of Degree of Rationality, therefore, questions the shrewdness under which such assertions are made and goes ahead to remind politicians to evaluate their assertions before they can act on them (Johannesen Valde and Whedbee 23).
Immigrants around the world view the United States as their fortress for much of the challenges they experience in their home countries of from wherever they are fleeing. Naturally, the United States, being too lenient in welcoming and extending the necessary opportunities to the immigrants, has often experienced an influx of foreign nationals seeking entry into the United States. Consequently, the United States has been experiencing myriad challenges emanating from the presence of immigrants in many parts of the country. While regulating immigration is necessary in the US, denying them the right of access into the country does not necessarily sound prudent.
Around the world, different counties are playing host to millions of American citizens who reside in those countries as immigrants. By seeking to negate all the available opportunities to immigrants, Donald Trump’s administration may fall short of being humanitarian, especially in the estimation of the international community. The implications of Trump’s assertions may make the outside world to see the United States as an alien or foreigner unfriendly nation. How best the United States should handle the issue of immigration remain a serious concern; however, implementing Trump’s views as they are portrayed in the video may spell doom for America’s image internationally.
- Johannesen, Richard, Kathleen Valde, and Karen Whedbee. Ethics in Human Communication. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 2008. Print.
- LeMay, Michael. Transforming America: Perspectives on U.S. Immigration, Volume 1 Volume 1 of the Making of a Nation of Nations: The Founding to 1865. California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2013. Print.
- “Trump 2016 Campaign Promo.” YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoI3ayY2GRI.