TOW #7 - Donald Trump Voters, Just Hear Me Out

Well, as we inch closer and closer to election day, it only seems appropriate that we read up on politics. “Donald Trump Voters, Just Hear Me Out,” is not the first anti-Trump essay that Thomas L. Freidman, foreign affairs writer for The New York Times, has composed as of late. In his piece, Freidman employs a first person point of view on top of the argument mode of writing in hopes of swaying the remaining Donald Trump supporters to vote for Hillary.

Through the argument mode, Friedman acknowledges both sides of the issue and appeals to logos. Very early on, he recognizes that, “Yes, Hillary Clinton is a flawed leader…” which seems fair, until he continues, “…but in the way so many presidents were. We know her flaws: She has a weakness for secrecy, occasionally fudges truths…” It is common, in order to form a successful argument, to make a point about your one’s own side, as it demonstrates more unbiased writing. However, Friedman barely makes a point about Hillary – he brings her up and immediately cancels out his statement. From here, Friedman happily jumps right into a brutal attack on Trump. To paint Trump as a mean-hearted man, he uses examples, such as the presidential candidate’s sexist comments and his reluctance to release his tax statements. They appeal to logos and further Friedman’s argument.

In addition, the author composes the majority of his piece in first person. This helps make the writing more personable to the audience. Since Friedman hopes to persuade Trump supporters, and through this, criticizing him, he must do everything he can to soften up the readers. The very first paragraph of his essay, in fact, has nothing to do with the issues at all. Referring to his piece, he explains that “I’d like to address the people least likely to read it: Donald Trump voters. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get lucky and a few of them will buy fish wrapped in this column, and they’ll accidentally peruse it!” Such a nonchalant, informal introduction (combined with an intriguing title) essentially butters the reader up, draws the reader in, and sets them up for the kill.

Through the use of argumentation writing in the first person, Thomas Friedman successfully identifies and expands upon Donald Trump’s flaws. Meanwhile, he ignores the potential issues of a Hillary Clinton presidency. Friedman intentionally writes a one-sided piece with no room for debate, to attempt to sway Trump voters.