What Should We Make Of Trump's Speech Patterns — And Our Responses To Them?
Yes, President Trump's words tend to be simple and oft-repeated. The real question, says anthropologist Barbara J. King, may be what happens when we adopt them.
During a press conference on Aug. 15, President Trump was asked by a reporter why he waited so long to "blast neo-Nazis" in the wake of the white supremacist rally held the previous weekend in Charlottesville, Va.
That rally resulted in the death of Heather Heyer, a young counterprotester, and injuries to dozens of others.
According to NPR's transcript of the exchange, Trump responded in this way:
"I didn't wait long. I didn't wait long. I didn't wait long. I wanted to make sure, unlike most politicians, that what I said was correct. Not make a quick statement. The statement I made on Saturday, the first statement, was a fine statement. But you don't make statements that direct unless you know the
