Whether you support Trump or not, we can all agree that his oratory and persuasive skills are among the best in history. He has a way of being comfortable and satisfy people with what he says even without saying anything of substance.
How is that possible? In one of his speeches, he used some interesting rhetorical tactics. He was speaking to a Christian college and won the hearts of the audience by saying, "In America, we worship God, not the government." He told his audience that "Merry Christmas" should again be used as a wish, not the indifferent and generic "Happy Holidays", and that they would always have a place to worship their Savior in America.
Then Trump also started telling them to never give up. This seems to be a universal message that can be delivered by anyone, anywhere, because anyone can think of something they want more than anything else, but they run into obstacles. For example, in the Nike Just Do It campaign, the message is not to let anyone stop you, but to just keep going because you will eventually break down that wall and succeed. Trump ended his speech by saying, "And you will have the faith to replace a corrupt establishment with a government that serves and protects the people." That is the way, he told them, to succeed by choosing a system of government that makes a difference and keeps America one with God.
In another speech in Manchester, Trump used the phrase "really, really powerful penalties for really bad pushers and abusers". According to Aristotle, an Enthymeme is a "rhetorical syllogism used in oratorical practice". This means that a phrase or image does not give us specific direction for what it means, but we must fill in the blanks.
Roman copy in marble of a Greek bronze bust of Aristotle by Lysippos, c. 330 BC, with modern alabaster mantle
Trump is truly the king of enthymemes. In the same speech in Manchester, he said, "Other countries don't play games...but the ultimate penalty has to be the death penalty". When we say we play games, we have an idea in our heads of what that means. That is so successful for him because that way he can get his audience to create the image he wants to create, rather than giving them an image they may or may not like.
Trump's rhetoric follows much of what Aristotle taught. Appealing to people's emotions, using passion, logic and knowledge of the loops of communicating with people. Whether Trump has studied the teachings of Aristotle or not, he hits all the right buttons to be a great communicator.
