Anyone who makes policy should contact people personally. After all, what’s more persuasive than directing your project to citizens in a speech that captivates them?
US President Joe Biden, 78, also uses rhetorical means in his public appearances. During the lecture, he plays with a variable tempo, different pauses and volumes. It pushes the latter treatment to the top, which seems strange to many listeners. Because the President of the United States sometimes turns from talking to whispering.
Sudden change from talking to whispering
This was also the case in his speech, which Biden gave at the end of June at the carrier in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The content of the speech was road and bridge repairs, until he changed the subject—that is, the president leaned forward and said in a low voice: ‘I think we should give the common people a tax cut. The rich are fine.”
At another White House press conference in June, when it came to a $973 million infrastructure package, Biden’s appearance made people smile, too. When asked when families should expect additional financial assistance, he whispered, “You’ve already helped them with $1.9 trillion relief. You’ll find big checks in your mailboxes.”
Language method by
The boss’s whispered messages are clear to understand. But the reason for Biden’s change to Whisper is unclear to many. One possible reason for choosing this rhetorical style is Vanessa Beasley, a lecturer in Communication Studies at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.
It is said that this way of language comes from earlier times, when the relationship between politicians and journalists in the capital was still different. “I think this is a symbolic sign of closeness and intimacy,” Beasley told the Detroit News.
Biden, who has been a senator and vice president for 40 years, saw this type of communication himself and took it with him.
Criticize the obsessive because there is nothing else to criticize
The linguistic gesture, supposed to create familiarity, offers critics and comedians a target for attack: Kayleigh McEnany, 33, who was a White House press spokeswoman until January, was said to have called Biden’s whispers “weird” and “crazy.”
Comedian Stephen Colbert (57) imitates the President and whispers into the microphone in his performance: “Mr. President, Mr. President. You know I like you. But the way you lean in and whisper, you know, it’s a little scary.”
The White House is weighing on us
The White House doesn’t think much of this debate and defends the president, continues the Detroit News: “Conservatives criticize him because otherwise they can’t provide voters with any other criticism.”
White House deputy spokesman Andrew Bates emphasizes the positive changes that occurred during Biden’s tenure: “The number of coronavirus infections has fallen by more than 90 percent, we have created more jobs than ever before and the economy is growing faster than it has been in 40 years.” (une)
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