Congratulating the Donald

source: Billboard

Congratulating the Donald

“We're not Democrats first. We're not Republicans first. We are Americans first. We're patriots first,” said President of the United States, Barack Obama, in his speech on November 9th, 2016. Eight years before, Obama was elected the first African American President of the United States of America. This year the people elected a new president, one who is the complete opposite of President Obama, president-elect Donald Trump. In Obama’s speech, the day after Trump was elected, he congratulates Trump on his victory and assures the American people that everything will be alright, despite the ongoing riots and protests. President Obama conveyed his message effectively with his ethos, pathos, and logos; his audience believed his message, his constraints helped his cause, and the exigencies for his speech fueled his purpose. Barack Obama has been, and always will be, a very well respected man, and a well spoken man. His speech in response to Trump being elected president showed his humble qualities.

President Obama used strong logos in his speech on November 9th. He used the logical appeal that the American people, as a whole, should be united in wanting president-elect Donald Trump to succeed, because America is everyone’s home, and now Trump is everyone’s new leader. Obama’s following quote reveals his effective choice of logos: “Because we are now all rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country. The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy. And over the next few months, we are going to show that to the world,” (“Transcript”). Obama conveyed his logical appeal of bringing the American people together in such a time of division effectively. Logos, in the words of Covino and Jolliffe, is “the appeal to patterns, conventions, and modes of reasoning that the audience finds convincing and persuasive,” (338). Obama made a very persuasive and reasonable point in his speech: that the American people are basically a really big, diverse family, and that we should come together in such times of disagreement. We should, in fact, support and wish success upon Donald Trump because he is our new president and leader.

President Barack Obama brought the American people together in his speech by using effective ethos that revealed his credibility. “Ethos is generally defined as the good character and the consequent credibility of the rhetor,” (Covino). Although he tends to show his ethos more in his actions than in this speech, nevertheless he did show some by revealing his knowledge of the history of democracy in America over time: “The point though is is that we all go forward with a presumption of good faith in our fellow citizens, because that presumption of good faith is essential to a vibrant and functioning democracy. That's how this country has moved forward for 240 years. It's how we've pushed boundaries and promoted freedom around the world. That's how we've expanded the rights of our founding to reach all of our citizens. It's how we have come this far,” (“Transcript”). Obama thoroughly conveyed his message with the use of logos, ethos, and also, of pathos.

The speech that President Obama gave after Donald Trump was elected used one general pathos, but it was very deep and emotional. He made the point that we are all Americans and that we all want what is best for our country. “We're not Democrats first. We're not Republicans first. We are Americans first. We're patriots first,” said Obama. This quote drew upon the hearts of all Americans because he was right. Covino and Jolliffe describe pathos as the following: “The central idea underlying pathos is that an effective text will somehow activate or draw upon the sympathies and emotions of the auditors…” (338). They also go further to explain that the “sympathies and emotions” should push the auditors to take action on the subject, or to “accept its ideas” (Covino). President Obama’s choice of pathos affected Americans in a way that now we understand the need and importance of coming together as a whole, and some of us, despite our disdain for Donald Trump, have accepted the idea that he is our new president-elect.

The purpose of President Obama’s speech, on November 9th, 2016, was to reassure the American people that it was okay that Trump was elected, and to persuade them to wish him success in leading the country. Obama’s exigencies fueled his enthralling speech. Grant-Davie describes exigence as “a problem or need that can be addressed by communication,” (348). The problem behind the motivation for Obama’s speech was the response to Donald Trump’s election that included riots, destruction, and protests; a torn United States. He needed the American people to see that just because the candidate that they wanted to win did not that it was okay. In his speech Obama said, “regardless of which side you were on in the election, regardless of whether your candidate won or lost, the sun would come up in the morning.” Needless to say, the sun came up on November 9th, the day after the legendary election that tore America apart. However, Obama’s speech stitched it back together, even if it was just a few stitches.

Several constraints helped President Obama’s cause: uniting the American people. The fact that Obama was the first African American president of the United States gave the people hope that anything is possible, and that he had so much ambition to accomplish, and obtain, such a legendary status/position. He is also a family man, having a wife and two daughters, which he is seen with frequently. Obama is a Democrat and so therefore has the same views as many Americans. His option of political party can be seen as a positive or negative constraint, but in the case of this speech, it was a positive one. The fact that he is a Democrat and spoke highly of Donald Trump, Republican, in speech so that he could unite the people revealed his genuine care for America. “We all want what's best for this country. That's what I heard in Mr. Trump's remarks last night. That's what I heard when I spoke to him directly. And I was heartened by that. That's what the country needs -- a sense of unity, a sense of inclusion, a respect for our institutions, our way of life, rule of law, and respect for each other,” (“Transcript”). President Barack Obama conveyed his message effectively with help from his constraints.

On November 9th, 2016, President Obama spoke to the American people in hopes of uniting a torn country. After the election of Donald Trump, riots erupted and protests were formed. Millions of Americans were broken-hearted, angry, and in shock. Obama took it upon himself to try and stitch us back together. He made a valid point that, as a whole, Americans all want the same thing. We should all want our leader to succeed at his job and succeed at being our new president. Barack Obama used effective ethos, pathos, and logos to convey his message; his audience had hope again, his exigencies fueled his speech, and his constraints boosted his cause. As President of the United States, Barack Obama, once said, “ultimately we're all on the same team.”

Works Cited

Covino, William, and David Jolliffe. "What Is Rhetoric?" Writing about Writing: A College

Reader. By Elizabeth A. Wardle. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 325-46.

Print.

Grant-Davie, Keith. "Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents." Writing about Writing: A

College Reader. By Elizabeth A. Wardle. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014.

347-64. Print.

"Transcript: President Obama’s Remarks on Donald Trump’s Election." Washington Post. The

Washington Post, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.