Name: Rumaisa Tariq

ID: 17167086

Course Code: ENG-423-A

Course Title: Discourse Analysis

Final Assessment Project: Discourse Analysis of Donald Trump’s speech

 Discourse analysis of Donald Trump's speech

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump delivered a speech in Michigan Friday

focused on the African American community, urging black voters to "try Trump," asking

"what the hell do you have to lose?", on April 19, 2016. The speech began with a vote of

thanks from Trump's audience. He thanked everyone, praised the congregation and expressed his

love for the state of Michigan. The ideology of this speech and this kind of language is that he

should present himself as a very kind and patriotic person who has a special kindness to his

people and his homeland. But the hidden ideology of his speech is to get the people to vote and

become the President of the United States. There is no difference between the politicians of any

country. Everyone uses the same tactics to get votes from the people by corrupting opponents

and making false promises.

The aim of politics involves the use of power to another by affecting their behavior. In politics,

people need a political strategy and the method to do it varies depending on the purpose. .

Political strategy proposes a pathway to success when the society understands the background of

candidates and reasons for them to vote for.In politics, every speech must be in a rhetorical way

because the purpose of rhetoric is to persuade others through argument by appealing to their

emotions, in order to sway their thinking. The more rhetorical the more sympathetic arose and

they gaining power.

If we talk about the repetition of words or phrases in his speech, we find it oftent imes till

the end of the speech. In the opening, the thank you word is repeated many times.
 “Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. What a crowd. Wow. Look at that, boy. What a

crowd. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.” (Donald Trump - 00:10)

Here, he uses hyperbole. It’s used for emphasis, to express solidarity with or validation of

another person’s point of view, to link ideas in discourse, and to aid in memory.

In many places in his speech, he repeats his claim to provide jobs and opportunities to the people

of Michigan just to emphasize this. As we already know Trump's ideology behind this speech,

we know that this claim is only for votes. Therefore, Trump repeated these letters in many places

in his speech. Trump even called his victory a victory for factory workers. Another reason for the

repetition is that he did not have a written form of speech. Sometimes during a long speech you

may forget the order of some lines or lines, so repetition occurs.

Trump compared other states to Michigan and attacked people's emotional instincts. He

repeatedly targeted the Democratic Party in his speech and created feelings of hatred and

division in the states. He is trying to spread fear among the people that if they vote for Hillary,

they may lose all opportunities. He referred to the past years of the US government and warned

them that this is a development of the Democratic Party. He blamed Hillary and her party for all

the devastation in Louisiana and Detroit.

“Look at what the Democratic party has done to the city as an example, and there are many

others, of Detroit, 40% of Detroit’s residents, 40% live in poverty. Half of all Detroit residents

do not work and cannot work and can’t get a job.”

(Donald Trump: 06:22)

 Here, he uses the linguistic device “directness” to deliver his message. Trump's tone is

relaxed and he is known for his straightforwardness. He has spoken of speeding up trade deals,

he has criticized allies, and he praises enemies. It is "rhetoric that rarely interrupts mainstream

political discourse in the United States." Instead of defending himself, Trump turned a blind eye.

If he is accused of racism, he says he is in favor of security. If he is accused of sexism, he says

he has rejected the imposed political correctness. Whatever the problem, Trump's speech puts

things in terms that are kind to his brand.

He addressed the middle class and jobless people, especially the African American

people of Michigan and warned them by targeting Hillary Clinton’s policy agenda. He asks them

‘what they have to lose’ and makes them feel left out. Trump again targeted Hillary and tried to

gain their trust for the sake of his votes.

“No group in America has been more harmed by Hillary Clinton’s policies than African

Americans. No group, no group...Tonight, I’m asking for the vote of every single African

American citizen in this country who wants to see a better future.” (Donald Trump: 06:22)

Trump also used statistics to get people's attention on the issue. He claimed that by

saving the money that the Clinton administration has saved on immigrants, it can be invested in

the inner cities of the United States. Strengthening his case and receiving praise from the crowd,

he once again spoke of African Americans and promised them job opportunities

“The improved refugee screening standards I have proposed will save countless billions

of dollars. It’s called extreme vetting, extreme vetting. We will invest a portion of the money
saved...In a Trump administration all workers of all colors will get priority for jobs in their own

country, which is about time. I want higher wages for African Americans..”

(Donald Trump 17:33)

Trump opposes illegal US immigration from Mexico. Building a wall between the US

and Mexico is one of Donald Trump's key promises as he campaigned for the presidency. It's all

about the hatred that Trump spread to the people of the United States and Mexico. Trump talked

about trade with Mexico and accused Hillary of moving carmakers from Michigan to Mexico.

Trump is trying to get people to go against Hillary, informing them of his policy and again

urging them to vote for him because he will not.

“ And if I’m not elected President, that will never happen. Believe me, they’re talking to you,

they’re playing you, but believe me, you know the answer. And I have to say that I’ve been

talking about Michigan and the car industry and how your businesses and plants have been

ripped out of your land.”

(Donald Trump: 04:14)

Trump's foreign policy is very clear in this speech because some of his debates have been

analyzed above.. Trump uses many ways to show his ideology, Following the "Make America

Great Again" agenda, Trump formulates his foreign policy. He uses his idea to gain power to

make America become a superpower so that they can control many aspects in the world. He

simply said that the United States should spend its money on its people. We must not pay the

price for any war that could wreak havoc on ISIS or anywhere else in the Middle East
 Throughout this speech, we have repeatedly used Trump's tactics to weaken people

emotionally and psychologically by targeting Democrats and Hillary, and to make them realize

that if they elected Trump their president. So only their survival remains.

“Hillary Clinton is a legacy of death, destruction and terrorism. America deserves a

better legacy. All of you deserve a much, much better future. I am the change agent.”

(Donald Trump: 31:42)

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was an agreement between

Canada, Mexico and the United States that eliminated most tariffs between counties. The

agreement was held responsible for preventing job losses and increasing wages for these roles in

traditionally heavy-duty states such as Michigan. Trump has previously called NAFTA "the

worst trade deal in the country's history," which has used aggressive import tariffs on both

Canadian and Mexican goods to influence renegotiation.

The referential tactics he used in his speech included addressing his opponents directly,

namely Hillary, comparing him to Michigan and referring to other states that contradicted him.

Trump's choice of word is very informal at some points. For example, when he asked black

voters, "What do you have to lose? What the hell do you have to lose?” Furthermore, when

talking about the grammatical structure of this speech, there are many stress-related errors

because The language we already analyze is informal, but it has no effect on the audience

because English is their mother tongue. At the end of the speech, they talk about a United States

in which all states are one. Stay together and then all the promises are repeated.Like a normal
politician, to make the country developed, to provide more job opportunities, lower taxes,

developing economy, etc., to get votes in the next elections. It can be interpreted that the

ideology that is used by Trump is gaining power. Power is a vital element of human survival and

it has signs and manifestations in every aspect of social life, from interpersonal relations through

economic transactions, to spiritual and political disagreements. Power is usually associated with

politics, authority, and wealth, also the idea of power is the ability to influence the actions or

decisions of another. Everything is done for the sake of gaining votes in the upcoming elections.