The Apology: A close reading on political apologies

Trump's Public Apology

On October 7, 2016, Donald Trump shared a public apology on his Facebook presidential campaign page, which was meant to address his inappropriate comments about sexually assaulting women from a decade ago. The “apology” was announced after a video was released early October 2016, where Trump was caught bragging to Billy Bush about grabbing women by the pussy (see video). I put quotes around apology because for the majority of his statement, he boasts about what a good person he is and deflects attention to her opponent, Hillary Clinton, saying that she is “[running] our country into the ground." Furthermore, Trump exclaims that Hillary Clinton is the real bully for shaming her husband’s victims that he sexually abused.
(Link to Trump’s apology)
 
In this article, I will review the objective of Trump’s apology, the style, and the platform he’s used to convey his message, and the overall effect of his apology. will also demonstrate how Trump strategically deflects blame as a part of image repair theory. The overall purpose is to review politicians’ tendencies to strategically manipulate their messages in public apologies to attain a positive image. I will then conclude with why this is an issue, and what an ideal apology should be.

While reviewing his public apology, I will draw from academic sources to help analyze the objective of is apology, the style, the platform chosen to give his message, and the overall effect of his apology. I will also demonstrate how Trump strategically deflects blame as a part of image repair theory. The overall purpose is to review politicians’ tendencies to strategically manipulate their messages in public apologies to attain a positive image. I will then conclude with why this is an issue, and what an ideal apology should be.

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