Saw a clip from a 2016 rally in Phoenix that made me rethink something

Last week I was scrolling and found this old video of him speaking at a fairgrounds there. He kept saying the same thing about jobs in three different ways, and people were cheering each time. It hit me that he wasn't just giving a speech, he was building a rhythm on purpose. How many of his rallies actually worked like that, where he'd repeat a point until the crowd got it?

3 comments

3 Comments

miles27723d ago

Wow, that's a solid point. I always just thought he was rambling or forgetting he already said something. But you're right, it's a pattern. Saw it with the "drain the swamp" line too. He'd say it, wait for the cheer, then say it a little different to get them going again. Totally changes how I see those clips now.

the_ben23d ago

Exactly, it's like he's working the room like a live show. Once you see it, you can't unsee it. I had the same moment watching an old rally where he did it with "lock her up". @miles277 is spot on, it's a total pattern, not a mistake. It feels way more like a planned trick to get the biggest reaction possible. Makes the whole thing seem a lot less off the cuff and a lot more like a performance.

riverg7516d agoMost Upvoted

Best thing I ever figured out was to stop watching the speeches and start watching the crowd reaction instead. You see exactly what he's doing, he's reading their energy and feeding it back to them. Once you realize it's basically call and response, none of it feels accidental anymore.