Watch the first few minutes of Trump’s remarks at a campaign rally in Washington, Michigan on April 28, 2018. (The CSPAN video is broken into segments, and you can advance through them by scrolling down the webpage.) How does the rally footage relate to the themes of anti-elitism and ethno-nationalism that Pierson discusses? What else jumps out at you about the rally footage?
You might also find this article about the rally from Michigan Live helpful.
April 29, 2019 at 11:34 am
In the opening minutes of Trump’s remarks at the rally in Washington, Michigan, President Trump exhibits the themes that Paul Pierson says helped win him the election. In Pierson’s piece titled ‘American Hybrid: Donald Trump and the Strange
Merger of Populism and Plutocracy’, Pierson states that Trumps anti-elitist rhetoric and ethno-nationalist political agenda carried him into office. in his piece, Pierson writes, “Trump’s brand of aggressive anti-elite and ethno-nationalist politics, along with some of his policy distinctiveness, helped him dominate an open candidate selection process against a divided field within his party.” Within the opening minutes of his speech in Michigan, Trump proclaims that he was invited to be at the White HOuse Correspondence dinner the same night, but would much rather spend time with the great people of Michigan. Trumps body language and delivery of this statement allude that he does not want to spend time with the social and political elites that would be at the White House dinner – coinciding with one of his promises throughout his campaign that he was going to Drain the Swamp in Washington. Later in the speech, Trump returns to the theme of anti-elitism when he proclaims that noone in Washington has ever taken care of the farmers and manufacturers as well as he has. Again trying to prove that he his not a part one of the elites who have ran this country for its entire history. Pierson also talks on Trumps ethno-nationalism agenda, which Trump spends a great deal of time referring to at his rally in Michigan. Multiple times throughout the speech, Trump refers to the caravan of immigrants coming through Mexico and heading towards America. Each time he alludes to this, chants of “Build the Wall” break out from the crowd as Trump seemingly provokes them to do so. Knowing his audience, Trump claims that illegal immigrants have been taking farming and manufacturing jobs for years. This of course sparks loud reactions from the crowd. My overall impression of the rally was that Trump hindered his rhetoric, the tone in which he spoke, and the things he said about other prominent people in Washington to appeal to the predominantly white, male, working class audience. He was very proud to boast of all the things he has done for those people, and will continue to ensure that the white working class will not be taken advantage of by the political elites in the country, and any immigrants.