Journal Entry (Monday January 2, 2023)
What makes Trump such a good speaker? His followers will tell you it is because he “tells it like it is.” Loosely translated, that means he is providing a picture that can easily be grasped by his listeners and shared with their friends at a later date. He is not making an attempt to convey truth, in fact if there are any truths being expressed it is most likely an accident. What he is doing, he’s doing in a marvelously simple way. He uses repetition and alliteration to deliver ideas, that, even if they make no sense when exposed to the light of critical thought, they are easy to digest and regurgitate. Take as an example the following:
We have to stop illegal immigration. We have to do it. We have to do it. And when I hear some of the people that I am running against, including the Democrats. We have to build a wall, folks. We have to build a wall. And a wall works. All you have to do is go to Israel and say is your wall working? Walls work.
It is impossible to find a truth in the preceding statement. There isn’t a single one lurking there, passing as a thought that might accidentally be discerned as truth. What it contains, is a lot of repetition and assertion of thoughts where no supporting fact has been established. As Harold Evans puts it, his audience is “seduced by his insistent certainty.” It is probably dangerous to say this style of speech is designed to appeal to a specific segment of the populous, but that is exactly what it is designed to do.
Flesch Kincaid Score for my words:
- Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 8.9
- Flesch Reading Ease Score: 62.2
- Reading Level: 8th & 9th grade (Plain English)
- Average Words per Sentence: 17.5
- Average Syllables per Word: 1.5
Flesch Kincaid Score for Trump’s words:
- Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 1.4
- Flesch Reading Ease Score: 97.9
- Reading Level: 5th grade (Very easy to read)
- Average Words per Sentence: 7.3
- Average Syllables per Word: 1.2