President Trump Addresses Congress

This past Tuesday, February 28th, Donald Trump gave his first address to congress. Trump’s speech was considered by most as a massive success for any President, let only one that has historically low approval ratings. In fact, the approval rating for his speech, at seventy percent, is almost double his actual approval rating at forty-three percent. The speech mainly consisted of Trump elaborating on his vague presidential platform. He urged congress to replace Obamacare, support his new government agency V.O.I.C.E. ( Victims of Immigration Crime Enforcement office), and spend one trillion dollars on infrastructure. The reason Trump’s speech was so successfully was because it was the first time that he seemed presidential. The speech, which was mostly scripted, kept Trump from saying any outrageous statements, similar to the ones that got him elected.

Trump’s speech was full or rhetorical examples, which is unusual for someone that speaks so exhaustingly without giving much thought to what he is saying ( He did not write it, a paid speech writer probably did). There was some logos and ethos mixed into his address. It was the first time Trump really made himself seem presidential, immediately giving him ethos. In using logos trump provided logical solutions to issues that he recognized but never previously expended on them. Perhaps, Trump’s best use of rhetoric was when he used pathos by recognizing multiple people that had been through tragedy but had prevailed, specifically when he called upon the widow of a Navy Seal. This moment was especially impactful, because of how much emotion she showed and how much of a standing ovation she received. It was a truly inspirational, as well as rhetorical, moment. Trump’s speech was received well, mostly because it was well written, it was delivered well, and had an adequate amount of rhetoric involved.