On Tuesday, Donald J. Trump will be elected for a second term as president of the United States. In preparation for his destiny to become manifest, let us cleanse ourselves of Trump Derangement Syndrome and turn to the ancient rules of rhetoric - logos, ethos, pathos - to properly comprehend why the Orange Man will certainly remain inside the White House four more glorious years, keeping America, her allies, and, therefore, the entire Free World, great.
In 45 months, Trump’s administration facilitated record low unemployment for Black, Latino, Hispanic, Asian, and non-high school graduate Americans; tax cuts and a refocus on vocational training encouraged industry to relocate to the US; America became independent of oil from the Middle East, while natural gas flattened energy costs; medical bills as well as drug costs fell; and landmark prison reform was achieved in cooperation with community leaders.
In foreign policy, the Donald can brag he’s been nominated for three Nobel peace prizes; America has not started any new wars under his watch; peace treaties have been signed both in the Middle East and the Balkans; China’s domination has been checked; illegal immigration to the US has declined as their Byzantine system is reformed; and allies are finally paying their share for NATO. The case for Trump’s second term is stronger than it was for both Obama or Bush Jr.
The Orange Man’s enemies unwittingly laid the perfect groundwork to demonstrate his ethos. Trump would have been evicted from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue if a single damning fact was found during impeachment; before and after surviving the virus, he’s seized the bully pulpit, calling for a return of civil liberties; questions around race and policing notwithstanding, as protests erupted into violence, the president was able to become the “law and order” candidate.
Part of ethics is approach. Most of the time, Trump is not the instigator of the skirmish he finds himself in, but once roused he fully intends to end the fight as the victor. Every prediction made about ushering in a theocracy, appointing his own family to SCOTUS, or the world ending on his watch has been proven absurd. And yet the office has not changed him - his vocabulary, gestures and costume remain the same, which sends a definitive signal to fans and foes alike.
That brings us to pathos. In the last election, it was Randle McMurphy versus Nurse Ratched, class clown versus school marm, crazy uncle Don versus officious Aunt Hil. This won Trump a lot of votes: for all his bluster and vitriol towards his opponents, he did not speak down to his voters. While Hillary told miners in Virginia to learn how to code, Donald walked into a rally and spoke those immortal words no speech writer could ever think of: “I love big, beautiful coal.”
Which candidate elicits more sympathy today? “Everybody hates Trump” is supposedly the show we’ve all been watching these last four years. But does anyone love Vice President Joe Biden? Where are his crowds and spontaneous rallies? Why are his policy positions so ambiguous from Supreme Court packing to banning (or not) all fracking?
The strategy of dumping on Trump has backfired, giving him all the advantages of the underdog for the second time. The “racist” is pivoting to Black America; the “lazy man” is in five states a day holding rallies; the “fat boomer” beat coronavirus; the “crook” takes no salary and puts America first; the “criminal enterprise” that is his family works tirelessly on peace treaties and social justice; and the “not a real Republican” got it right on guns, judges, and the unborn.
In short, Trump is due for a second term. There is no doubt that his rewinning election will send Democrats into apoplectic fits, but why try to comfort them? They had four years to prepare and still lost bigly to an Orange Man from Queens with no previous political experience.
