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On Tuesday, November 8th, 2016, Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States. At roughly three in the morning on November 9th, Hilary Clinton, the Democratic candidate, called the Trump Campaign and officially conceded the election. Following the concession from Clinton, Trump addressed the nation in a “victory speech” at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Manhattan. He was joined on stage with his family, Vice President Mike Pence, and important members of Trump’s campaign staff. In the speech, President Trump offered support to Clinton and thanked her for running against him. He also provided the America people with his vision, plan, and goals for the next four years. Trump concluded his “victory speech” by thanking the numerous amount of people who helped him during the campaign.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owuq_An4cnk (Speech)
https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/09/politics/donald-trump-victory-speech/index.html (photo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owuq_An4cnk (Speech)
https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/09/politics/donald-trump-victory-speech/index.html (photo)
Trump begins his speech by thanking Secretary Clinton for running against him. He also congratulates Clinton and points out that she has done a lot for American during her service in the government. Trump congratulates Hilary in a very genuine way. The tone of his voice and his body language make the viewer believe that Trump is being sincere. At this moment, Trump is painting a very different image than the one he gave off during the actual campaign. During the campaign, Trump was critiqued by many for being too emotional, for attacking Hilary personally, and for simply behaving in a childish way. In the “victory speech,” Trump presented himself in a very different manner. He was soft-spoken, genuine, and very mature. He acted in a presidential manner. Trump strategically did this to send a message to the American people, especially those that voted against him, that he was capable of being in office. Trump then talked about the overall goals and the vision he had for his administration. These goals include helping to improve infrastructure, improving cites, and creating the best economy in the world. During this segment of the speech, Trump used the words “together” and “unison” multiple times in order to stress that he was going to need all of America to work together in order to accomplish his goals. He said, “For those of you who have chosen not to support me in the past, which there were a few…I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country.” During this part of the speech, Trump once again speaks in a genuine and sincere tone. At parts of the speech, it feels as if Trump is speaking directly to you. He strategically does this because he knows he will not be able to achieve his goals without the support of the entire country. Trump finally ends his speech by thanking numerous people. He does this in order to show the American people that he is not all about himself and that he cares deeply about the people who have helped him become the President. Overall, the majority of Trump’s “victory speech” is aimed to prove to American that he is capable of being a great President.
There were many articles written following Trump’s “victory speech.” The articles all shared a similar response. During the campaign, Trump was ruthless. He attacked his opponents on a personal level. He had absolutely no filter. He said whatever he felt like saying. He also made huge promises such as building a wall on the southern border of the United States. The media coverage during the campaign was mostly anti-trump and called him out for his campaign antics. That all changed during his “victory speech” after he became the President. Trump’s actions during the speech changed and so did the media converge. The coverage of the speech from different news outlets all shared a similar pattern. They started off by explaining how Trump behaved on the campaign trail and then pointed to a change of behavior. The media said that he showed great humility, that he talked in a politically correct way, and that he acted very presidential. The media praised Trump for the manner he conducted himself in during the speech.
CBS Response
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At CBS News article entitled After Stunning Win, Donald Trump Offers Soothing Words to Non-Supporters shows the response the majority of the media had on the speech. The article discussed the humility Trump possessed during the speech when he thanked Hillary and congratulated her for her service in the American Government. The article also talks about how Trump did a great job making those who did not vote for him still feel as if they were needed in order to make the country successful.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBS (photo)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2016-race-donald-trump-wins-presidency-salutes-hillary-clinton-vows-reconciliation/ (CBS Article)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBS (photo)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2016-race-donald-trump-wins-presidency-salutes-hillary-clinton-vows-reconciliation/ (CBS Article)
Vanity Fair Response
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A Vanity Fair article entitled Donald Trump Calls for Unity in A Surprisingly Gracious Victory Speech once again shows the media’s response to the speech. The article acknowledges Trump’s behavior on the campaign trail and then admits that they were surprised at the manner in which Trump delivered his speech. The article said that trump delivered the speech in a gracious manner. They talked about the humbleness of the speech and how he was very focused on unity and bringing the country together. The article praised Trump for the speech.
https://www.vanityfair.com/ (Photo)
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/11/donald-trump-victory-speech?verso=true (Vanity Fair Article)
https://www.vanityfair.com/ (Photo)
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/11/donald-trump-victory-speech?verso=true (Vanity Fair Article)
Washington Post Response
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The final article in the Washington Post entitled In Victory Speech, Trump Wanted to ‘Calm the Waters’ shows a very similar message. The article talks about how Trump moved away from his campaign rhetoric and spoke in a more politically correct manner. The article also talks about how Trump was humble in victory and did not use the win as an opportunity to brag to his opponents. Finally, the article discussed how Trump wanted to use the speech as an opportunity to unite the American people and bring all Americans together.
https://www.facebook.com/washingtonpost/ (photo)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2016/live-updates/general-election/real-time-updates-on-the-2016-election-voting-and-race-results/reince-priebus-in-victory-speech-trump-wanted-to-calm-the-waters/?utm_term=.93d381db1731 (Washington Post Article)
https://www.facebook.com/washingtonpost/ (photo)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2016/live-updates/general-election/real-time-updates-on-the-2016-election-voting-and-race-results/reince-priebus-in-victory-speech-trump-wanted-to-calm-the-waters/?utm_term=.93d381db1731 (Washington Post Article)
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My interpretation of the speech was very similar to the media’s response. Trump’s conducted himself in a drastically different manner than he did in the campaign trail. He displayed humility by thanking all of the members of his staff and by congratulating and thanking Hillary. His body language and tone of voice also suggested that he was being genuine. Finally, Trump’s speech made it seem as if he was capable of being a presidential president. The media’s frame of Trump’s speech was a very accurate one. Although a lot of the media has been anti-Trump, the media clearly covered his “victory speech” correctly. The coverage of Trump’s speech also shows that the media, for the most part, does a good job accurately describing what occurs in American politics.
https://www.activistpost.com/2012/10/media-coverage-of-identity-politics.html (Image)
https://www.activistpost.com/2012/10/media-coverage-of-identity-politics.html (Image)