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P3 Week Three

Patt Morrison
The Los Angeles Times
December 6 2019

In Patt Morrison’s article, “GOP strategist Rick Wilson on Trump’s loud, messy, ugly’ 2020 campaign”, Morrison interviews Rick Wilson to gain insight into his views of Trump and the belief that our democracy is declining due to Trump’s actions. Wilson explains that Trump is neither a conservative or liberal. He is an authoritarian, precisely one who destroys the securities that protect Americans from the behavior Trump exhibits. Wilson gives an interesting viewpoint as he is a Republican. However, he completely disagrees with most of Trump’s actions, which prove that Trump does not follow the common ideological beliefs of a sound Republican. Morrison questions Wilson about what makes Republicans support Trump, although they disagree with his actions. I find Wilson’s response to be almost humorous as he explains that they are scared of him, mainly his Twitter feed. This shows the importance of social media in today’s society and how it shapes the American government. Wilson’s central claim is that Trump has utterly destroyed the Republican party and believes that the party will never recover or have the same ideologies again. Morrison’s purpose of sharing Wilson’s ideas is to educate her audience about the effects of Trump’s presidency and the direction that our government is headed in under Trump’s administration. Since true Republicans left the administration after working for Trump, the only officials left are those that succumb to Trump’s power and actions although they conflict with their own. Wilson uses this idea to show that there is no hope for the Republican party to amend from the inside. Morrison also includes an audio recording of her interview, which engages her audience and makes the piece easier to understand. Wilson appeals to authority by using his own experience working as a Republican to exemplify the GOP’s means of re-election. The tone of Morrison’s piece is informative yet also conversation-like as it is in an interview style.

Comments: Mollie, Grace Scott, Grace Marionneaux

Comments

  1. LandryDecember 6, 2019 at 7:40 AM

    Comment for the author: You sounded shocked after Wilson explained that the Republican party will never be the same. Do you agree with Wilson's view that the Republican party will never recover?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Grace SDecember 6, 2019 at 8:17 AM

    This is quite an interesting style of pundit; I have never seen an interview or recording used by a columnist before. I appreciate such a fresh take on what can sometimes be quite boring and vanilla.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Grace M's English 1 BlogDecember 6, 2019 at 8:43 AM

    It is interesting how Rick Wilson thinks Trump's way of governing surpasses party. I would have to say I agree with this somewhat, because most can agree that Trump is certainly more conservative in most senses. However, Trump really does do some things that I wouldn't expect from a conservative president, like passing animal cruelty bills and making a task force on missing Native American women.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jylliann HuffDecember 6, 2019 at 9:08 AM

    I found it somewhat amusing to see how people were scared of Trump because of his Twitter. Twitter remains a social media outlet where Trump can voice his quite often ridiculous and reactive opinions. I liked how Rick Wilson remained a voice for those who were Republican but felt as if the party was dying or toxic. Patt Morrison overall brought a thought-provoking idea and effectively argued it through the voice of Rick Morrison.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousDecember 6, 2019 at 5:04 PM

    It is refreshing to see someone branch out from their political affiliation. Most people just repeat anything their representatives say, but it is appreciated that people can still disagree with political candidates even though they are part of the same party. Sometimes it feels like Americans are becoming less and less unique in their thinking and ideas.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousDecember 6, 2019 at 11:30 PM

    It is an interesting viewpoint to look at President Donald Trump as an authoritarian, it gives a while new persona in my opinion. This view makes his actions a little more predictable, especially his twitter rants or even his radical views on some issues.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousDecember 7, 2019 at 7:48 PM

    Nowadays, nobody has their own opinion about politics, but are influenced by what their peers and political figures say. Yet, when that political figure does something unexpected, like the majority of Trump's actions, people immedialty act as if they no longer support that political figure. I just find it slightly annoying how fluid people are when it comes to their party affiliation, becuase no matter what a particular figure does, it will never be good enough.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AddiDecember 8, 2019 at 11:30 AM

    I would like to know more about how media is involved in the conversation. There is no question of the importance and relevance of the media in the modern world and modern politics. I think there is more to be said about the president's online presence at it is not always the greatest demonstration of what he has done for the country.

    ReplyDelete

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