President Trump's First 100 Days
Healthcare - By Yash Reddy (Period 3, Mrs. Henson)
Overview of the First 100 Days
Response to Failure of Bill (March 25, 2017)
Trump's Tweet and His Response to the Media
Rhetorical Situation
Audience:
People of America, especially the Democrats who turned down the bill
Trump’s supporters who wanted a new health care because of the failures of ObamaCare.
Purpose:
To ensure his supporters and the rest of audience to not give up on him
To continue supporting him as the Republicans try to get the bill passed.
Tweet attempts to disrepute ObamaCare to reduce the support for it.
The purpose of the message to the media was to criticize the Democrats that did not support the bill and did not vote for the repeal of ObamaCare
Trump wanted to publicly criticize them and blame them for the failure of the bill.
Speaker:
- President Donald Trump on the behalf of the Republicans who pulled the bill out of the House
Rhetorical Appeals
Ethos
Bolsters his credibility by saying “Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer” are the real “losers”, because “they own Obamacare”.
Attempts to show that Democrats are only hurting themselves by not supporting the new bill.
Hopes to spread the idea that the new bill and the new administration is much more beneficial to the American public. (Increases public trust)
Pathos
Trump incorporates pathos in hopes of bringing together the Republicans, and bringing together Americans as a whole.
Trump tweets, “we will get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for THE PEOPLE. Do not worry!”.
Creates idea that President Trump is trying to work together with people who are negatively affected by Obamacare, in hopes of coming up with a healthcare plan for “the people”.
Assures that them help is on the way in the near future.
Logos
Incorporated to undermine Obamacare and explain why his attempt at a repeal of Obamacare failed.
Trump claimed “the losers are Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer because now they own ObamaCare”.
He believes that because of the failure of the bill, the owners are the losers because they have to remain with the older form of healthcare
Provides logic for why the bill was not passed
“We had no Democrat support, no votes from the Democrats”.
- If Democrats are able to understand the benefits of the new bill, it will be passed.
Rhetorical Choices
Hyperbole
Trump exaggerates the idea that Obamacare will “explode” and will cause the Democrats to be the real “losers” in this situation.
However, in reality, many of the Democrats are in favor of Obamacare and believe it is beneficial for themselves and the society.
The word "explodes" makes it seem like all of its effects will immediate go away, but it will take time to completely eradicate it
Trump exaggerates the immediate demise of Obamacare in hopes of gaining support for his health care policies.
Possessive Diction
- Trump is very firm and authoritative in the way he expresses himself through his words.
- Believes that “we will all get together” and that “we [will then] get a real healthcare bill.
- Extremely possessive in his wordings to show his authority and belief that the bill will pass if and when the Democrats choose to finally work with his administration.
- He reaches out to his audience by using “we” repetitively to highlight that it will be combined effort
- By using possessive diction, Trump attempts to be in direct dialogue with the reader and therefore lowering the scope of the audience
- The use of "we" brings forward the idea of a common goal and a common enemy: to pass the healthcare bill with or without the help of the Democrats.
- Establish a personal connection with his audience.
Tone
Two different tones in his tweet and message to the media.
Tweet
very firm and certain about how Obamacare will fail and “explode.”
very certain that the Republicans will come together and make a successful healthcare plan
This tone reveals how definite he is about his power to make a successful plan in the future despite having no Democratic support.
Message to the media
Very critical and cautionary tone
Trump is being critical of the Democrats, especially Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, who gave him “no votes.”
Claims they are losers of the results because “now they own ObamaCare” which according to him will fail soon.
- Cautionary to the Democrats and people of America
Reason Behind
At this point in Trump’s presidency, there is no change over time but just a few differences.
Still unable to repeal ObamaCare
However, Republicans have gained some support for their plan and have been able to make a new plan even if it was unsuccessful.
Shows that they are striving to make a change
- The reason behind this is that Trump’s presidency is relatively new and he has not yet gained the support of the Democrats.
Significant Event #2: May 4th, 2017
Speech After Health Care Bill is Passed in the House
Biggest changes:
States can allow insurers to deny people with preexisting conditions as long as the states establish high-risks pool for those people States can decide whether insurers have to provide Essential health benefits or not such as Maternity care of mental health care Tax credits based on age Coverage mandates dropped Medicaid is turned over to the states with fixed funding from the government
Rhetorical Situation
Audience:
The people of America and Republicans who supported the Health Care bill
Opposers of the Health Care bill
Purpose:
emphasize the positive effects of this bill, and demonstrate its superiority to the previous health care bill, Obamacare.
quell the opposition by showing how it had passed under the House and will pass under the Senate.
highlight this major victory for the Republicans who have wanted to eradicate Obamacare for years
Speaker:
- President Donald Trump on the behalf of the Republicans who won passage for the new Health Care Act
Rhetorical Appeals
Ethos
Attempts to augment his credibility by repetitively describing the talent and hard work that has been put into creating bill
Induces the audience to believe that they are men of intelligence and morality.
“This really is the group. What a great group of people. and they’re not even doing it for the party, they’re doing it for this country”.
He hopes to make Americans believe that this was done through true morality for the goodness of the nation as a whole, which increases the public trust in his administration.
Surround the new bill with positive feelings in order to increase the credibility of the administration.
Says the bill was “incredibly well-crafted” by a group with “an unbelievable amount of talent”.
Repetitively says the bill is “unbelievable” and “tremendous” with many “great features”.
Audience is induced to believe that the Trump administration is very talented and credible in regards to healthcare reform.
Pathos
Uses pathos as a means to connect with some of the people that were negatively affected by Obamacare.
He claims “we suffered with Obamacare” and in “two years of campaigning.... no matter where [he] went, people were suffering so badly with the ravages of Obamacare.”
He uses the word “we” to create a sense of unity among those who “suffered” with the conditions of this bill.
“We just have developed a bond. This has really brought the Republican Party together....This has brought the Republican Party together.”
Utilizes emotional appeal in order to engender a feeling of connection within the Republican Party
Logos
Incorporates logos within his speeches in order to emphasize the benefits of the new healthcare bill in comparison to Obamacare.
Attempts to spread the idea that “your premiums, they’re going to start to come down” and “when it comes to deductibles, they were so ridiculous that nobody got to use their current plan”.
Believes “insurance companies are fleeing” because of the “catastrophe” that is Obamacare.
He continues to say that “premiums will be coming down”
- Hopes to make the audience to believe that there is logic and valid reasoning behind his plan.
Tone
First, he was mainly positive and joyous because the bill was passed in the House
Passage was an “unbelievable victory” and everyone in the “amazing group of people” that came up with it deserves to go out and do “short little shots.”
Very self-appreciative of himself and of his team that put the bill together.
“great group of people”
“they’re doing it for the country.”
“unbelievable amount of talent”
Further expresses a self-appreciative tone when he reassures everyone that he is President.
“Hey, I’m President. Can you believe it?”
He “brag[s]” about the plan because of “how good it is and [because] of some of its great features.”
Lastly, he is very condemning of Obamacare and the Democrats who supported it.
People under Obamacare were “suffering so badly with [the plans] ravages.”
Obamacare was “a catastrophe...that wasn’t going to work.”
“Obamacare took 17 months” and “is essentially dead” right now.
Overall, President Trump uses a positive and self-appreciating tone when referring to the new Health Care plan, himself, and the Republicans
- Condemning tone to the Democrats who came up with Obamacare
Rhetorical Choices
Hyperbole
Utilizes hyperboles to exaggerate the negative effects of Obamacare on Americans.
“We suffered with Obamacare” and says, “I went through two years of campaigning, and I’m telling you, no matter where I went, people were suffering so badly with the ravages of Obamacare.”
This is clearly an exaggeration, as there are many people who benefit from Obamacare.
- With this hyperbole, Trump hopes to undermine the previous healthcare bill, and contrast it with the benefits of the new healthcare bill.
Rhetorical Questions
Uses rhetorical questions in order to induce the audience to think his policies serve to satisfy the nation as a whole.
“And coming from a different world and only being a politician for a short period of time -- how am I doing? Am I doing okay? I’m President. Hey, I’m President. Can you believe it? Right?”
Continues by asking, “wasn’t it unbelievable?” By asking these questions,
- Attempts to make the audience acknowledge that although he has only been a politician for a short period of time, he has already come up with an “unbelievable” healthcare plan.
Repetition
Used to stress the hard work that has been put into constructing the bill, and to emphasize that talent that lies within the administration
“make no mistake, this is a repeal and replace of Obamacare. Make no mistake about it. Make no mistake.”
The repetition of “make no mistake” underscores the idea that Trump’s bill is drastically different than that of Obama’s administration.
Says Obamacare is “dead”, “essentially dead”, and “would die immediately”.
Repetition of die/dead emphasizes the complete eradication of Obamacare.
Continues to applaud the bill by claiming, “we don’t have to talk about this unbelievable victory -- wasn’t it unbelievable?..... But it’s going to be an unbelievable victory, actually, when we get it through the Senate.”
Repetition of “unbelievable” clearly illustrates the he is very confident in the work that he has produced.
When describing the tax cut he is hoping to initiate in the future, he says it will be a “massive tax cut, the biggest tax cut in the history of our country......the biggest since Ronald Reagan. Now, it’s bigger than that.”
The repetition of the words “massive” and “big” serve to show that Trump’s future goals involve trying to be very influential in the history of tax reform.
At the end of the speech, Trump repeats the phrase “we are going to” in order to emphasize the “tremendous” changes in the upcoming years of his presidency.
Repetition is also used in the form of anaphora and parallel structure.
“most importantly, yes, premiums will be coming down...But very importantly, it’s a great plan... And ultimately, that’s what it’s all about.”
The repetition of the words “importantly” and “ultimately” at the beginning of consecutive sentences highlight the significance of the changes yielded by the bill.
“We have the Tuesday Group -- we have so many groups. We have the Freedom Caucus. We have -- and they’re all great people....We have a lot of groups.”
The repetition of “we have” at the beginnings of sentences represents the diversity and flexibility of the administration
- Everyone played an important role in the making of this bill.
Antithesis
“for the last week I’ve been hearing “Paul Ryan doesn’t have it. It’s not working with Paul Ryan. He’s going to get rid of Paul Ryan.” And then today I heard, “Paul Ryan is a genius, he’s come a long way.” (Laughter.) Right?”
Trump provides a contrast between the perception of Paul Ryan before the healthcare bill was passed and after it was passed.
- Demonstrates that the public perception of his administration will continue to change as he brings about more and more change to various policies.
Reason Behind
The reason behind the differences and changes regarding Healthcare in the First 100 days are due to the fact that the bill finally passed the house.
Before Trump became president, Obamacare existed, which the Republicans essentially hated and despised.
Election of President Trump has directly led to this change and radical difference in the bill.
With the election of Trump the major changes to bill most directly affect those that currently have medical problems.
Supports people that are already healthy but does not help those that are currently sick.
Some of these changes include:
not having essential health benefits such as maternity leave
coverage mandates dropped
states can allow insurers to deny people with pre-existing conditions
- All these changes have happened because President Trump was elected
Works Cited
Garrett, Laurie. "A Huge Sigh of Relief on Health Care." CNN. Cable News Network, 25 Mar. 2017. Web. 19 May 2017.
Hartmann, Margaret. "Trump Informs Nevadans That They Pronounce ‘Nevada’ Wrong." New York. Daily Intelligencer, n.d. Web. 21 May 2017.
Khazan, Olga. "Better Off Before Obamacare?" The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 14 Nov. 2016. Web. 19 May 2017.
Levitz, Eric. "Or, Actually, Maybe the Trump Campaign Is Doing Everything Right." New York. Daily Intelligencer, n.d. Web. 20 May 2017.
Murphy, Ryan. "Donald Trump’s First 100 Days Timeline." Mr. Credible Hulk. N.p., 28 Apr. 2017. Web. 20 May 2017.
Nikki Schwab, U.s. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com. "It's All about That Face! You Don't Even Need to Hear the Words to Know What The Donald Is Saying: Here Are Trump's Most Expressive Debate Moments." Daily Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 17 Sept. 2015. Web. 21 May 2017.
Schmitt, Angie, and Ben Fried. "Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi Are Falling for Infrastructure Propaganda." Streetsblog USA, 17 Nov. 2016. Web. 21 May 2017.
Smilowitz, Elliot. "Trump Tweets: We'll Put Together a Great Plan after Obamacare Explodes."The Hill. The Hill, 25 Mar. 2017. Web. 20 May 2017.
"Trump, GOP Lawmakers Speak After Health Care Bill Passes House." Fox News. FOX News Network, 04 May 2017. Web. 17 May 2017.
Wilx. "ELECTION 2016 - Reactions to Donald Trump's Win." Content. WILX News, 09 Nov. 2016. Web. 21 May 2017.
Zarroli, Jim. "Trump's Travel Costs Add Up, Setting Him On Path To Outspend Obama." NPR. NPR, 15 Apr. 2017. Web. 18 May 2017.