Introduction
Donald J. Trump is a highly controversial figure in American politics, and his policies, statements, and manners of speaking have been repeatedly criticized and rethought. For instance, his opinion on immigration and the current status of the US-Mexico border is still controversial and contentious for many people (Collier 1). Thus, during a speech in El Paso, Texas, on February 11, 2019, President Donald Trump discussed his plans for immigration reforms and the current state of the border (Varvel 28). In this speech, he attempted to explain why the US should build a border wall and why his proposed reforms are necessary. However, President Trump’s comments were imperfect in structure, content, and meaning without finding a broad response among the population. Notably, in 2019, Mr. Trump failed to realize the unifying, healing force that other presidents projected in critical situations, but he only operated with fake and fear-fueling expressions (Baker and Shear). Donald Trump’s speech model reflects the presence of many errors and problematic arguments.
Analysis
Immigration Speech
The thorough, careful analysis of word choice and speech organization in Donald Trump’s immigration address revealed numerous inaccuracies, lies, misconceptions, prejudices, and complexes. Primarily, Mr. Trump’s oration is more filled with xenophobic and chauvinistic patterns than meaningful, ingenious, thoughtful, and logical conclusions based on evidence. Stating that “illegal immigration hurts all Americans”, by and large, he appealed to emotions, not reason, expressing his hatred and disgust for foreigners (White House 1). In addition, the President attempted to create a sense of urgency and danger to make his case for the border wall (Fleuriet and Castellano 880). This statement exemplifies a logical fallacy in which an argument is formulated due to sentiments rather than reasoning and consistency.
In general, one should recognize that this speech was initially distorted by many false, inaccurate, and unconvincing arguments, which do not carry objective, reliable, trustworthy, substantiated, and verified information. Hence, instead of relying on factual data, Donald Trump often expressed his opinions and thoughts on the situation, not reflecting the truth or actual reality. At the same time, Mr. Trump encouraged the country’s residents to accept his point of view in a competent and correct form with the help of the affective-manipulative components. For example, he said that the only thing that is going to stop illegal immigration is a strong form of wall or steel barrier (White House 1). The President used more of a false dichotomy fallacy in his arguments. He has oversimplified his thought about the issue of illegal immigration by saying that the only solution to the concern is a wall when there are numerous possible resolutions.
Another similar example was in this speech when he argued that there is no third choice, and the border either exists or not. Consequently, this is a false dichotomy, as there are multiple possible solutions to the problem of illegal immigration. President Trump attempted to limit the debate and discourage other possible solutions by presenting only two options. Moreover, he said: “If you don’t have borders, then you don’t have a country” (Guild 1). That indicates the country will collapse if the US does not build a border wall. That is an example of a slippery slope fallacy, suggesting that a series of increasingly adverse outcomes will follow if one action is taken.
Finally, it should be stated that regardless of whether Trump’s ideas are justified, the analysis showed that the former President used logically unsupported, erroneous associations to characterize the connection between the United States, in the case of Obama and Clinton, the Democratic Party, the Middle East, and immigration issues, with a causal relationship in all speech. Indeed, in each phrase, one can find a certain hidden subtext, the study of which will reveal the true intentions of the politician. However, the above examples are enough to understand how Trump’s arguments are ineffective in implementing measures to deter illegal immigration and explaining why these actions are so necessary.
Prescription Drug Prices Speech
An identical case where Trump deliberately lied, misled the people, and used weak reasoning and argumentation for his words occurred in his speech about medication prices on October 2, 2020. In this oration, Donald Trump laid out his plan to lower prescription drug prices, which he believed would benefit all Americans, especially consumers and taxpayers. Mr. President commented that prices are high, many companies exploit people, and market manipulations within such a system exist. Nonetheless, in such cases, he relied more on a false dichotomy to reason that the current system is terrible for many people. This argument is a fallacy as it implies only two options: the current system or his proposed plan. In reality, there are many other potential solutions to the problem. Trump ignored that his proposed plan would likely increase the cost of prescription drugs for some people (Woolley 1). By allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, the Government could purchase medications in bulk at a lower cost. However, this would likely mean that some consumers would have to pay more for their drugs since the Government would be able to get lower prices than individual consumers.
In addition, President Trump’s arguments were oversimplified and relied mainly on the idea that drug companies are exploiting the American people. That is a bias, as it implies that the drug companies are solely to blame for the high prices, and he ignored that many other factors contribute to the problem. Drug firms may have some responsibility for the high prices. For instance, the costs of research and development, marketing and advertising, regulatory fees and taxes, and the potential for shortages of certain drugs (Woolley 1). Furthermore, drug prices are affected by the cost of raw materials, the availability of generic drugs, and insurance companies’ reimbursements for specific medicines.
Finally, President Trump assumed that his proposed plan would lower drug prices. That is complex, as there is no guarantee that his plan will work as intended. President Trump’s proposed plan to lower drug prices involves encouraging drug manufacturers to sell their medications at lower prices in the US compared to other countries. This plan, however, assumes that drug manufacturers are willing to lower their costs to remain competitive in the US market. In reality, drug manufacturers could use the proposed plan to increase their profits by raising prices in other countries to compensate for the lower prices they offer in the US (Woolley 1). That could lead to an overall increase in drug prices rather than a decrease in prices, as was promised by President Trump’s plan.
Conclusion
Summarizing the above, it is necessary to state that, as the analysis shows, Trump’s speeches are filled with lies, mistakes, inaccuracies, biases, and unconvincing argumentation, which appeals to feelings and emotions rather than the voice of reason. His arguments rely heavily on oversimplification, false dichotomies, and slippery slope fallacies, which are not based on logic. The President’s statements did not adequately address the issues but were based on biases, prejudices, and personal opinions.
Works Cited
Baker, Peter, and Michael D. Shear. “El Paso Shooting Suspect’s Manifesto Echoes Trump’s Language.” The New York Times, Web.
Guild, Blair. “Trump: “If you don’t have borders, then you don’t have a country.” CBC News, Web.
Collier, Ethan. “Biden’s Border Actions: How Much of Trump’s Policies Have Actually Been Changed?” Bipartisan Policy Center, Web.
Fleuriet, K. J., & Castellano, M. “Media, Place-Making, and Concept-Metaphors: The US-Mexico Border During the Rise of Donald Trump.” Media, Culture & Society, vol. 42, no. 6, 2020, pp. 880-897, Web.
Varvel, M. P. “Framing the Border: Crisis Rhetoric at the US–Mexico Border.” Journal of the College English Association Mid-Atlantic Group, vol. 30, 2022, pp. 28-43, Web.
Woolley, John T. “President Trump’s Drug Pricing Plan Could Be Detrimental to Patients.” STAT, Web.
White House. “President Trump Rally in El Paso, Texas.” National Cable Satellite Corporation, Web.