In class this week, we discussed approval ratings and popularity of past presidents and presidential nominees. More specifically, we discussed how past presidents were appealing to black Americans because they represented a majority of the voting population.
This past week, Trump happened to be appealing to the black American population and was trying to reach out to them through a message that was dissing past presidents for their lack of progress regarding racial integration. According to the New York Times, "President Trump reached out to African-American voters on Friday, arguing that his economic and criminal justice policies had done more for them than decades of false promises by Democratic leaders who he said took them for granted".
The article describes how he was trying to reach out to black Americans in an attempt to reinvent his presidential campaign for this upcoming election. He wanted, like past presidents in their campaigns, to appeal to a big part of their voting population, and black Americans had a lot of power in their large community. This explains why Trump has been trying to reach out and do more for race issues in the United States in recent weeks. This makes me question his motives, but also makes me think about whether or not these motives are necessarily bad because although he may be focused on his campaign, he is still attempting to help this underrepresented population.
I agree with you in that I think it is interesting to analyze the intentions behind political figures' actions because many times their motives are not reflections of their true ideals and beliefs but are more reflections of their own current self-interest. I wonder though if Trump took into account the amount of his current supporters who would be unhappy with his focus on economic and criminal justice policies instead of other issues. Could this shift in Trump's campaign strategy have steered away some of Trump's supporters? As we discussed in class, Trump is one of the few presidential candidates who acted completely and unapologetically himself during the presidential election since what he said in speeches and debates were what he believed in. This is unlike most presidential candidates who are more focused on winning the popular vote that they give out more bland and universal statements in order to appeal to the most people.
ReplyDeleteI found this blog post really interesting. It is surprising that someone like Trump would attempt to appeal to Black voters as he is not the most liberal person but I think that his intentions make sense. Many presidents say things to try and gain votes and support instead of sharing their actual political opinions. A candidate can say anything they want to while running and not follow through on it when in the office. While this is a good political strategy, candidates should stick to their actual opinions so the candidate who shares the views of the majority of America is elected.
ReplyDeleteI found this post really surprising and thought provoking. I was surprised to hear that Trump is trying to appeal to black voters with actual policies, but the motives that you presented make perfect sense: he wants to appeal to a large part of the population he previously neglected to gain more support for the next election. This left me wondering, is it a bad thing if politician's motives are bad as long as they are doing something good? Beyond Trump, if a President or government official does something good for the population – aiding racial integration, lessening national debt, promoting efforts to stop climate change, or whatever else it may be – should it really matter what their motivations were behind making this positive change? Sure, it would be wonderful to have a President or a government, that both cares about the issues and does something about it, but that is rare in reality. Obviously, this can be dangerous during elections: Presidential candidates making claims about what they believe without having to prove if they will follow through until after you've voted for them. However, for politicians already in office, I think that if they are making some sort of positive change, their motivations behind it shouldn't be the only thing taken into consideration.
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