The 2020’s presidential campaign in the United States was thrilling and intense as the Democrats focused on removing President Donald Trump from office. While there were other contestants, Joe Biden proved to be the primary challenger of the incumbent president. Throughout the campaign, communication played an indispensable role in shaping citizens’ thoughts and decisions concerning their leader of choice. Unlike President Trump, Joe Biden exploited the idea of interpersonal communication, together with the self-concept, to explain his ambitions to the Americans and request for their votes.
Joe Biden embraced interpersonal communication characteristics, including uniqueness, self-disclosure, intrinsic rewards, and interdependence, to create an exceptional rapport with the electorate. For instance, he used facial expressions and words, which depicted his humble personality. On his part, President Trump appeared over-confident, and instead of intensifying his campaign based on ideas, he was attacking Joe Biden, calling him “slow Joe.” Although it may be President Trump’s character, his arrogance was evident during the presidential debate. Besides, Joe Biden benefited from former President Obama’s assistance, who provided poignant and convincing speeches in various states across America, thus significantly winning the residents’ hearts. I can state that Obama personally influenced me due to his proficiency in expressing his message while courteously discrediting President’s Trump reign. I also believe he changed the minds of other Americans and encouraged them to participate in the election through a ballot-in approach owing to the rising cases of Covid-19.
Undeniably, the interpersonal communication strategy worked excellently for the Democrats and their candidate. They capitalized on self-disclosure and interdependence to explain to the Americans their intention and how they should vote during this period of the Covid-19 pandemic. On his part, President Trump’s arrogance and ineffective communication technique adversely affected his efforts to retain the leadership. I am not surprised that Joe Biden won because I believe he was destined to do so with his team’s brilliant campaign tactic. Despite the current situation regarding the counting of votes, President Trump should honorably concede defeat and reflect on his campaign shortcomings for a promising future.