Rhetorical Analysis Of Donald Trump's State Of The Union Speech

On January 30th, President Donald Trump gave his State of the Union discourse about his past accomplishments to prove how America was becoming better and more unified. By utilizing rhetorical devices, specific diction, and the organization of his speech, Trump fulfills his motivation of the discourse.
“But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge; and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential.
For President Trump, pathos enables him to create the feeling of hope in his audience over the harm International trade pacts and terrorism have done to America. First, Trump says clear nationalist lines with respect to International trade pacts: “We will follow two simple rules; buy American and hire American.” Secondly, he tries to overpower an entire group of individuals: “We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate from the face of the Earth.” Besides utilizing ethos and pathos, President Trump also uses logos to enhance his speech. “For too long, a small group in our nation's capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories. Their triumphs have not been your
Throughout the State of the Union Address, Trump built a specific structure that benefitted his purpose well. He began with a statement that reminded the audience of his position of influence for change, a statement with patriotic sentiments, his main idea of the anecdote, and then facts and logistics to support his main idea. The organization of the speech combined all three rhetorical languages: pathos, logos, and ethos. Although ethos and logos was applied, pathos was more significant and more plentiful in this speech, as it all had the same attributes: it had nationalistic sentiments that aided the main ideas. One example of this would be when Trump talks about a 12-year-old boy named Preston Sharp, who started a movement which placed 40,000 flags at the graves of the veterans. This helps aid Trump’s main idea, to gain trust between their citizens and their government. As well and Prestons movement, Trump also talks about Freddy Cuevas and Evelyn Rodriguez stating how their young girl was murdered because of gang related causes. This helps him go the right direction and appeals with his audience to fix the United States legislative laws. He creates sentimentality through the use of pathos which spreads in the