Rhetorical Situation Analysis
During the 2018 Midterm elections, one of the biggest elections occurring was the race for Governor of Florida. The two main opponents for the race were Democrat Andrew Gillum and Republican Ron DeSantis. According to Politico’s documentation, DeSantis ended up winning the election by 32,463 votes (Florida Governor Election Results). While campaigning, DeSantis released a campaign video with his wife Casey. In the video, DeSantis is seen teaching his two young children about Donald Trump. The video starts out by Casey explaining how many assume her husband is “all Trump,” but then says he is more than that. Then, the video pans to DeSantis building a pretend border wall with his daughter. After that, DeSantis can be seen reading a book about Trump while reciting Trump’s catchphrase, “You’re Fired!” The next clip is of DeSantis teaching his daughter how to say, “Make America Great Again.” The final clip of DeSantis with his children is of DeSantis leaning over his son’s crib and saying, “Bigly.” This video was meant to show DeSantis’ loyalty to the president at the time. One can claim that the campaign ad was effective because DeSantis was elected governor.
To prove whether the campaign was effective or not, we first need to define a rhetorical situation. Lloyd Bitzer defines a rhetorical situation as “a complex persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence which can be completely or partially removed with discourse, introduced into the situation, can so constrain human decision or action as to bring about significant modification of the exigence” (6). Examples of these can include commercials, political advertisements, and speeches. A rhetorical situation is also made up of three components: an exigence, an audience, and constraints. An exigence is an obstacle or something waiting to be done, while an audience is who sees the message or is persuaded by it, and a constraint is a part of the situation that can influence the exigence (Bitzer 6-8).
The exigence for the campaign advertisement is that DeSantis wanting to prove his loyalty for Trump during the 2018 midterm election. This approval can be defined as the exigence because DeSantis wanted Trump to endorse him in order for Floridians to vote for DeSantis during the 2018 midterm elections. The primary audience for the video would be Floridians deciding who to vote for governor. According to the Florida Division of Elections, sixty-three percent of Floridians voted in the 2018 midterms, which is more compared to the fifty-one percent who voted during the 2014 midterms. However, in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, voter turnout was seventy-five percent and seventy-seven percent respectively (Voter Turnout). One of the reasons voter turnout was higher than normal in 2018 was the fact that a new governor was being elected. The incumbent, Rick Scott, was ending his term for governor. Another cause of higher turnout could be the youth in Florida entering the polls. It is noted that the younger generations are becoming more politically active, leading them to want to make a direct impact on their state politics (Poll).
For the campaign video, there are several constraints. Some of these include the video being posted on social media, the use of pathos in the video itself, reactions from both GOP members and party outsiders, and the power President Trump had on DeSantis. The use of social media and technology plays an ever-increasing role in political elections. This is because social media allows people from across the globe to easily access anything posted online. This ad was posted on YouTube, a video sharing app and website created in 2005. The purpose of the platform is to allow content creators to post videos that can be connected to subscribers across the world. Having the ad be posted onto YouTube, rather than Facebook allows younger generations to have access to candidates. The use of social media can constrain the effectiveness of the ad if those with differing political opinions from DeSantis view the video. Furthermore, social media and YouTube allows the creator of the video to use more creative techniques when campaigning, which might not be able to be used in a more formal setting, such as a commercial on TV. Social media would also allow users to critique DeSantis’ video clearly. As mentioned previously, youth voter turnout can significantly change voting results. Moreover, people of all ages use YouTube and social media, even though it is intended for younger audiences.
In the video, DeSantis puts a prime focus on his two young children. This can appeal to the audience because of pathos, which is when emotions are used to persuade an audience. Children can easily make the audience feel something, for everyone loves children and older voters with children or grandchildren can feel and see the love DeSantis shows his children. This can persuade them into voting for DeSantis rather than another candidate.
Following the release of the campaign ad, like all political content, there were mixed reviews. According to Rolling Stone Magazine, the video was “the most bizarre 2018 campaign ad” (Bort). This opinion is shared with those who oppose Trump or DeSantis’ views. An example of this includes the comments made on the video where viewers argued that they thought the video was a skit from Saturday Night Live instead of an actual campaign video (Ron DeSantis Has Released). On the other hand, sources such as the Tampa Bay Times touted the video as “lighthearted” and completely different from his previous ads (Mahoney). The variation in reactions can show how polarized the audience was, which makes sense, considering the slimmer margin of the 2018 Florida gubernational race.
The most important constraint of the campaign ad was Donald Trump and his sphere of influence. At the time, the GOP had the Senate majority, while the Democrats had the House majority. The Supreme Court also had a conservative majority following the swearing in of Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. The GOP majority is important to consider when discussing the ad because this widespread conservative ruling led there to be more GOP candidates wanting to enter office in positions such as Congressmen or Governor. This increase led to Trump giving endorsements to candidates who were public supporters of Trump. These endorsements led more Trump-backed GOP members to be elected. Although public endorsements are common, Trump’s endorsements were important. This is because Trump did not follow traditional Republican narratives and created his own form of the GOP. The modern GOP primarily focuses on radicalism and eliminating the Democratic left from power, a stark difference from how previous Republicans have acted with their opponents.
In Florida specifically, the GOP has managed to gain more power during and post-Trump Era. This has led to candidates such as DeSantis and Congressmen Matt Gaetz to spread what can be quoted as “Trumpism” or the former president’s beliefs in general. During the 2016 election, Florida’s love for Trump can be seen with Trump winning the state by 119,770 votes (Florida Election Results). Trump’s endorsement for DeSantis is mentioned in the ad, but can be considered a constraint because without Trump, DeSantis would most likely not be as spoken out about his opinions without having a prominent figure support him. With DeSantis essentially proving his loyalty for Trump in the ad, it shows the audience that DeSantis will continue to support Trump far into the future, leading Trump supporters in Florida wanting to vote for DeSantis.
To conclude, DeSantis’ 2018 campaign ad can be seen as effective through his use of upholding GOP core values and supporting former president Trump. The use of social media also plays a pivotal point in DeSantis’ success because it allowed people across the world to view DeSantis as a family-oriented person, while also describing his loyalty to Trump. Having the precedent of a Republican governor aided DeSantis because he was following the pattern, instead of disrupting it. Although DeSantis has been highly criticized for his actions as governor, his campaign ad remains effective.