# I am absolutely convinced that Trump's speaking style played a MAJOR role in his victory **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 3, 2018, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014 "2018-08-03T02:28:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/41 "2018-08-03T19:30:37Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > You have a point, but I see it differently. Trump doesn’t fence sit on issues. He lets the voters know where he stands. This resonated with the voters,. He is very comfortable speaking in front of crowds. > > People are tired of flip flops and politically correct statements. Like when he said he was in favor of not selling guns to people on the no-fly list, but then changed his opinion after the NRA weighed in? Or how he agreed with Feinstein for a “clean bill” to protect Dreamers, only to then change his mind, and disagree with Democratic proposals to fund the wall and make immigration reforms? Or how he sees himself as both a “free trader” and a “fair trader” at the same time? Or how he says he won’t sign a budget bill without his border wall funded, and he keeps signing them anyway? In a narrow sense, those might not be examples of him changing positions, because he never actually knows what he’s talking about. My cat has more informed positions on issues of the day than Trump does. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/42 "2018-08-03T20:31:15Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > People are tired of flip flops and politically correct statements. Hah! That’s a laugh. _ **Everything** _ that Trump does is an act–a show–of political correctness for his base. Trump is pure political correctness, and nothing else. He has no real values or principles except to promote himself. That’s why, when he gets in over his head on policy issues, and occasionally says something stupid, and has to flip flop on his own words. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/43 "2018-08-03T20:45:26Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Hah! That’s a laugh. _ **Everything** _ that Trump does is an act–a show–of political correctness for his base. Trump is pure political correctness, and nothing else. He has no real values or principles except to promote himself. That’s why, when he gets in over his head on policy issues, and occasionally says something stupid, and has to flip flop on his own words. I think maybe you’re using a different definition of “political correctness” than the one I’m accustomed to. To me it means saying something that will not offend anyone based on the societal values of the day. Trump says offensive things all the time, although his base seems to agree with him. Because his base is so politically incorrect, and he makes sure there are large numbers of them accompanying him when he speaks, he gets away with it. But he is miles away from politically correct. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/44 "2018-08-03T21:05:23Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > I think maybe you’re using a different definition of “political correctness” than the one I’m accustomed to. To me it means saying something that will not offend anyone based on the societal values of the day. Trump says offensive things all the time, although his base seems to agree with him.\*\* Because his base is so politically incorrect\*\*, and he makes sure there are large numbers of them accompanying him when he speaks, he gets away with it. But he is miles away from politically correct. The bolding demonstrates that you’re begging the question. You can’t have it both ways. His base has its own political correctness, and Trump panders to it transparently. That’s his “speaking style”: pandering. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/45 "2018-08-03T21:13:58Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > Those gestures are super super common in New York. They are stereotypically ascribed to Italians and Jews, but the fact is, most people whose family has been in New York for several generations do it to some degree. > > I think - and this is just a theory off the top of my head, but it’s possible that someone has actually studied it - that it has to do with the fact that New York has always had a lot of people speaking many different languages, with highly variable proficiency in English, and so when people from different native languages conversed with each other, they used a lot of nonverbal communication to try to make themselves more easily understood. Interesting point, but I don’t see that kind of behavioral repetitiveness, and consistency in any normal person or public speaker. To me it’s an intentional thing, even if he is native to this stuff. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/46 "2018-08-03T21:20:56Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > I think maybe you’re using a different definition of “political correctness” than the one I’m accustomed to. To me it means saying something that will not offend anyone based on the societal values of the day. Trump says offensive things all the time, although his base seems to agree with him. Because his base is so politically incorrect, and he makes sure there are large numbers of them accompanying him when he speaks, he gets away with it. But he is miles away from politically correct. Political correctness is referring to when you tailor, change, or are punished for your speech because of a political bloc. It’s a two way street to say the very least. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/47 "2018-08-03T22:12:26Z")
This is what I find in Wikipedia. Political correctness seems to have a lot to do with not offending particular groups. I don’t think Trump pandering to his base fits this meaning very well. Correct me if I’m wrong (pun intended). > [@](#): > > The term political correctness (adjectivally: politically correct; commonly abbreviated to PC or P.C.) is used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society.[1][2][3][4][5] Since the late 1980s, the term has come to refer to avoiding language or behavior that can be seen as excluding, marginalizing, or insulting groups of people considered disadvantaged or discriminated against, especially groups defined by sex or race. In public discourse and the media, it is generally used as a pejorative, implying that these policies are excessive. > **[Political correctness](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_correctness)** > > "Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated PC) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. Since the late 1980s, the term has been used to describe a preference for inclusive language and avoidance of language or behavior that can be seen as excluding, marginalizing, or insulting to groups of people disadvantaged or discriminate The phrase political... ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/48 "2018-08-03T22:18:50Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > The bolding demonstrates that you’re begging the question. You can’t have it both ways. His base has its own political correctness, and Trump panders to it transparently. That’s his “speaking style”: pandering. There’s no doubt that Trump panders to his base, but when he speaks now, unlike on the campaign trail, he speaks for all Americans, not just Republicans and not just the subset of Republicans that make up his base. He’s always offending someone; therefore, I’d have to say he’s very much politically incorrect in the way he speaks. But it appeals to some people, oddly enough. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/49 "2018-08-03T22:22:42Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Sorry - no - I think he’s a bore and an asshole - he regularly employs bully antics as well as smear campaigns. > > He doesn’t even lie convincingly. > > His style is that of a blowhard. > > He is not elequant - he cannot convey ideas and when he reads from a script he looks like an empetuant 2 year old that can’t wait to get done with his chores. > > You want someone that speaks well? Reagan - he could give a speach. Obama as well. > > Trump is not an orator. Not an orator—certainly—but he does appeal to the lowest common denominator. K ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/50 "2018-08-03T22:47:09Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > It evidently has escaped some people’s notice that this thread is about the campaign, not what was said afterward. Hey, remember how he said he’d be too busy to golf and he had a crackerjack health care plan that would do more for everyone for less? I sure do. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/51 "2018-08-03T22:51:52Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > I just heard another clip from a Trump speech on the radio. It went, as best as I can remember, something like this: > > “I saw Bernie Sanders speaking at a rally…his hair keeps getting whiter and whiter, and he keeps getting crazier and crazier. Crazy Bernie! [roars of laughter from the crowd.] But I have to hand it to him - he means what he says. Oh, Bernie…what a crazy dude.” > > I may have gotten some things mixed up but that is almost exactly what he said. Actually I was acutely aware of how well his lines flowed compared to how they usually do - he usually pauses more and stumbles over words a little, in this case his delivery was pretty even. And once again, I thought to myself, “he’s talking about someone _exactly_ the way _everyone_ makes fun of the people that they make fun of behind closed doors and among friends.” When has any other politician ever done this? > > YES I KNOW that (rhetorical) question also applies to a lot of other very outrageous things that Trump has done, but this specific behavior doesn’t INHERENTLY need to be tied to acting like a buffoon or being a blowhard. > > If Joe Biden, say, delivered the exact same line - but saying “he keeps getting oranger and oranger” or something like that - at a televised rally, the clip would become an instant viral sensation, Democrats would be re-posting it like nobody’s business, and - boom, a burst of energy among the Democratic electorate. And the Democrats would immediately be portrayed as bigoted against orange people. Trump is given a pass because he has been doing it for years and getting away with it. That appeals to a certain segment of the population, but I don’t think the Dems could pull it off. Remember when Hillary referred to Trump’s base as “deplorables?” She was right, of course, but she shot gerself in the foot with remark. Meanwhile, Trump continued to refer to her as “Crooked Hillary.” It’s grade school namecalling, but he gets away with it because he’s the biggest bully on the block. Well, next to Putin anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/52 "2018-08-04T02:07:21Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Ronald Reagan would like a few words with you. It’s probably not coincidental that both him and Trump have a background in entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/53 "2018-08-04T02:11:54Z")
Very different though. Reagan had extremely formal acting training, very polished, mannered, and calculated. Trump’s “entertainment” background is a relatively new form of entertainment, reality television, in which he was not really acting at all, he was just being himself. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/54 "2018-08-04T03:48:33Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > Very different though. Reagan had extremely formal acting training, very polished, mannered, and calculated. Trump’s “entertainment” background is a relatively new form of entertainment, reality television, in which he was not really acting at all, he was just being himself. And that’s what people seem to respond to. Talking off the top of his head. Or talking out of his ass—whichever you prefer. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/55 "2018-08-04T13:21:18Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > And that’s what people seem to respond to. Talking off the top of his head. Or talking out of his ass—whichever you prefer. I’d prefer he shut the fuck up. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/56 "2018-08-04T16:24:57Z")
> [@simster](#): > > I’d prefer he shut the fuck up. +1 ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/57 "2018-08-04T17:03:11Z")
I think the OP is spot on. Trump is a terrible public speaker. He shows his ignorance and contempt for logic (and his audience) with almost every sentence. Nobody who put thought and planning into having an effective message would use his approach. Yet it’s perhaps the main reason for his success. He sounds just like some typical jerk you might overhear in a bar anywhere in America, and a large segment of the population love him for that. All his contradictions and narcissism just make him relateable as a real person to them. It also helps that the things he’s ignorant and bigoted on are common blind spots among the American public. e.g. when he speaks childishly on economics, most of his audience don’t pick up on it. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/58 "2018-08-04T17:36:41Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Yet it’s perhaps the main reason for his success. He sounds just like some typical jerk you might overhear in a bar anywhere in America, and a large segment of the population love him for that. All his contradictions and narcissism just make him relateable as a real person to them. In that, it reminds me of Bush; You would think having been an alcoholic cokehead would show insufficient judgment and impulse-control to become president but that seemed to help him. I wonder if this is mainly a Protestant, specifically born-again, thing. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/59 "2018-08-04T17:53:23Z")
Bush successfully became sober, which is not easy to do, and he publicly stated this and people believed him. I didn’t vote for Bush, I voted for Kerry in my first ever election that I was old enough to vote in, but someone’s past addiction should never be held against them if they’ve gotten it together in the years since. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014/60 "2018-08-04T18:25:28Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > Bush successfully became sober, which is not easy to do, and he publicly stated this and people believed him. I didn’t vote for Bush, I voted for Kerry in my first ever election that I was old enough to vote in, but someone’s past addiction should never be held against them if they’ve gotten it together in the years since. Right, Bush never made brash, ill-considered decision after that. : ) I’m being a little flippant but I do think that Bush being an alcoholic cokehead and his swaggering blunders & delusions are of a piece, along with his type of religiosity. Normally, I would agree that someone’s past addiction shouldn’t be held against them under two conditions: 1) they’ve engaged in long, painful introspection and changed the parts of themselves that caused them to falter (which involves more than accepting Jesus Christ as your lord and savior) 2) some positions have so many willing candidates and have such impact, it’s not worth it to take the chance. It’s not like he can say his addictions were coping mechanisms for a difficult childhood or getting PTSD in 'Nam. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-trumps-speaking-style-played-a-major-role-in-his-victory/819014.md?page=4)