TOW #6 - visual text: credibility of presidential candidates

The presidential election has fueled the United States into one big argument. It has sparked conversations not only in this country, but across the world, causing controversy wherever it may go. The news is filled to the brink with political articles and conversations in this day always seem to come back to one topic: the 2016 presidential election. The candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, are two extremely strong forces with clashing views. The author has an obvious bias and the reader is able to clearly see which side the author has chosen, and that is the democratic side of Hillary Clinton.

            Within the cartoon, Donald Trump’s brain is presented at a size about a third of Clinton’s. This shows the viewpoint of the author, how they believe Trump’s intelligence level is incomparable to Clinton’s. This provokes a certain audience, one with the belief that Trump is the favored candidate. This political cartoon is propaganda and is being used to persuade the audience to change their viewpoint. On the brains of each of the candidates, there are pictures representing where their knowledge comes from and where their credibility resides. Trump has a Twitter logo on his brain and Clinton has a senate seal. The difference between this is obvious; Trump does not have the “brains” to be president because his only referral to being credible is a social media website.

            The author uses rhetorical devices such as comparison and imagery to portray their message. They compare the brain of Clinton to Trump using relative size. This comparison allows the author to clearly and effectively show their standpoint. The imagery used is shown in the candidate’s facial expressions. Trump, who is portrayed in an unattractive manner, is being demeaned in the cartoon whereas Clinton is smiling and is seemingly confident.

            The author’s purpose, to inform and persuade their audience of the lack in Trump’s credibility, is conveyed successfully. The author clearly takes one side of the argument and proves their case.