This page is referenced by:

• 1 media/170112_POL_trump.jpg.CROP.promo-xlarge2.jpg 2017-04-04T17:45:14-07:00 Trump's public apology 29 Introduction plain 2017-04-19T20:25:43-07:00

  On October 7, 2016, Donald Trump shared a public apology on his Facebook presidential campaign page, which was meant to address his inappropriate comments from a decade ago about sexually assaulting women. The “apology” was aired after a video was leaked early October 2016, where Trump was overheard bragging to TV personality Billy Bush about grabbing women by the "pussy" (00:01:24-00:01:28). I've placed quotes around the word apology because for the majority of Trump's statement, he gloats about what a wonderful person he has become, and rather than saying "sorry," he deflects attention to his 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 alleged sexual assault victims.

  (Trump’s apology)
   

  While reviewing his public apology, I will draw from academic sources to help analyze the real objective of Trump’s apology, the style, the channel he’s used to convey his message, and the effect of his apology. I will also demonstrate how Trump strategically diverts blame as a part of image repair theory. The overall purpose is to review politicians’ tendency to strategically manipulate their messages in public apologies to attain a positive image. I will also examine what an genuine apology should be, then I will then conclude with why manipulated political apologies are an issue.