Dionne's Essay: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Donald Trump

537 Words3 Pages

Donald Trump has been sweeping the nation in his efforts to win the Republican presidential nomination. When the media trains its lens on Trump, the country appears to be “roiled with across-the-board discontent” (Dionne). His public interactions have split the country into those who categorize themselves as the “silent majority” and those who react with complete dismay toward his radical propositions. But are Trump supporters really the “silent majority”, or are the voices of Conservatives “being amplified beyond all reason” (Dionne)? In E.J. Dionne Jr.’s editorial titled “Don’t Fall for the Media Distortion about Trump”, the popularity of Trump is questioned and analyzed based on the media’s portrayal of his political race. Dionne disperses an array of different logical appeals throughout his editorial to develop and clarify his argument. After discussing poll numbers in favor of the current president, the author states that if Americans “had lost all confidence in their institutions” (Dionne), discontent would be more evident. With this assertion, the author indicates that the views of Trump supporters are not representative of the American public. Moreover, Dionne argues that “Trump has far less sympathy in his party than Obama” (Dionne) has …show more content…

Before discussing the effects of Trump’s proposals, Dionne writes that “Trumpism is a very poor guide to what needs to be done” (Dionne). After this statement, Dionne lists those who will face the most neglect under Trump’s hand, and his displeasure is obvious. To further express his dismay, the author continuously emphasizes that the American public is “allowing a wildly and destructively inaccurate portrait” (Dionne) of discontent to divert their focus. As a result, non-Trump supporters are allowing their energy to be consumed by efforts to debase Trump rather than efforts to create a forum in support for the