On Nov. 15, former President Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the 2024 United States presidential election. Trump’s speech highlighted many ideals from his 2016 and 2020 campaigns that are no longer relevant.
In the speech, Trump focused on his hope for growth beyond rehabilitation. “I’m running because I believe the world has not yet seen the true glory of what this nation can be,” Trump said. However, this contradicts his mission to “Make America Great Again.” This reveals the major issue with his new platform: he is presenting himself as an outsider to politics even though he has experience as president.
“Our country is in a horrible state. We’re in grave trouble. This is not a task for a politician,” Trump said. “What we have built together over the past six years is the greatest movement in history because it is not about politics, it is about our love for this great country.” Regardless of political ideology, politics and politicians generally hold negative connotations, so I understand how the desire for new styles of leadership led to his success in 2016. However, given that Trump already held office, emphasizing his supposed freshness purely serves as an excuse for his ignorance.
Trump frequently used absolutes in the speech, calling the American people “the greatest people on Earth” and the MAGA movement “the greatest movement in history.” This is a common rhetorical device among politicians, illuminating the hypocrisy of Trump’s image as an anti-establishment figure.
Trump also expressed the importance of inclusivity and reducing political polarization. “This will not be my campaign, this will be our campaign,” Trump said. “We love [all Americans] and we love both sides. We’re going to bring people together.” Although this sounds appealing, it is disturbingly reminiscent of his prior comment that there were “very fine people on both sides” of the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. Reducing political polarization is important, but Trump’s speech failed to acknowledge that it is a privilege to detach political conflict from personal harm.
The Islander will continue to follow the 2024 United States presidential election online and in print.
