Making Connections: The Rhetorical Effects of Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Greer Jackson
- Nov 8, 2017
- 5 min read
One of the skills we focused on in English 104 was the ability to draw parallels between different kinds of discoure. My objective in this essay was to discuss how Ta-Nehisi Coates varies his rhetorical techniques based on the audience he is addressing, in order to to relay his ideas through articles, interviews and extended essays. More specifically, I assessed his strategies in two interviews, (one with Chris Hayes of NBC and the other with late night television host Stephen Colbert) and one article: Coates' 'The First White President' published in The Atlantic.
In current times where the political atmosphere can be likened to an unmanned pot of substance boiling over uncontrollably, it is not uncommon to find political commentators trying to make sense of daily developments and their repercussions. As one of these commentators and intellectuals, Ta-Nehisi Coates has been known to bring a great amount of insight to the debates about the current state of affairs in America under the Trump administration. As a staunch believer that white supremacy is detrimentally engrained in American culture, one of Coates’ main points of contention is that Donald Trump, the USA’s first ‘white’ president, is a product of more than the white working class; Trump’s ascent to the presidency was enabled by disillusioned and hypocritical politicians, misguided journalists and a much larger group of people of all income brackets, education levels and social statuses. Coates employs several rhetorical strategies in order to debunk the myths about what has allowed Trump’s success, including his choice of tone and imagery, allusion to events in history and statistical data. He variates these strategies to cater to different audiences, and does so quite consciously and effectively.
In his Atlantic article ‘The First White President’ , Ta-Nehisi Coates addresses the use of the white working class as a scapegoat: ‘Trump is not solely a product of the white working class; it is a product of an entire whiteness.’ In presenting this perspective, Coates references statistical details of the 2016 elections. It was found that Trump’s supporters came from a very broad coalition; people who were economically unstable, people from white areas, the educated and the uneducated. By citing specific percentages, Coates use of logos as a rhetorical appeal helps him to establish his credibility.
Coates also develops his points by connecting the past to the present; he asks us to look to history to find evidence not just of the fact that white supremacy is part of the American culture, but that Trump is indeed the first ‘white’ president. In the Atlantic article, he points out that that the white Presidents who served before Trump were covert and clever where Trump is markedly blatant about abusing the power of his whiteness. In his interview with Chris Hayes, he mentions that the GOP has ‘historically played with racism’ and highlights instances where, for example, the Irish were equated with black people and thus seen as a lesser form of ‘white’. In essence, blackness has always been seen as a diminishing characteristic; whiteness, the exact opposite.
It is important to note that the audience of the Atlantic piece likely consists of intellectuals like Coates: people who have read his books and have a genuine interest in the changing spheres of culture and politics. Thus, not only is the extended length of the article appropriate, but so is his use of allusions to historical events and political jargon, all of which would likely be known to and understood by such an erudite audience.
Coates also holds several journals and politicians accountable for the Trump era. He references easily accessible examples, as he speaks about Democrats such as Bernie Sanders, who decried identity politics when stating that Hillary Clinton should not run on the basis of being a woman, but then turned to crowds and told them that they should respect him because of his working class origins. He expresses disappointment at journalists like Nicholas Kristof, who tell us not to dismiss their contemporaries as being bigots or racists, but whose reporting is innately racist. Former President Barack Obama is not to be excused without taking some responsibility either. Coates identifies two main faults of Obama’s: firstly, that he did not utilize his platform fully, leaving minority communities still hoping for better; secondly, that he did not take Trump seriously, and by extension, did not take the power of whiteness seriously. This was obviously a grave mistake, as it created an attitude of complacency that ultimately led to Trump’s victory.
Coates’ language and imagery also help to shape the outlook of his discussions. In the Atlantic article, Coates uses scholarly words such as ‘truculent’ and ‘sanctimonious’, which suit the intellectual forum that The Atlantic caters to. In his interview with Chris Hayes, his frustration is tangible, with terms such as ‘finger-waving’, ‘spewing absolute nonsense’ and ‘hate-mongers’. One very striking example of imagery can be found in the initial parts of his Chris Hayes interview, where his deep cynicism about race relations in America is palpable. He laments: “I don’t know what else we need. I don’t know if we need Steve Bannon to actually lynch somebody on the White House lawn to get the message.” The attitude Coates expresses here would surely be more relatable to the audience of Hayes’ show: that is, progressives who have similar feelings towards the Trump administration and the evils of white supremacy. Comparing these with his Colbert appearance, it is clear that Coates is more guarded and does not appreciate being baited to make inflammatory statements. His choice of language is careful and he appears more reserved. In response to Colbert’s poking and prodding, he shifts his rhetorical strategy; even though he maintains his convictions about the success of protests whilst applauding the efforts of those such as Colin Kaepernick, he lets his audience know that he is not the chosen savior; people should not look to him to for the answers that Colbert so desperately wants him to craft. The audiences of late night shows are likely to be different from those of the article or even the Chris Hayes show, because they may not necessarily be looking for in-depth political analyses; rather, easily digestible, sensationalistic and satirical summaries of present day society. Coates is confident enough in himself to know that he does not need to be sensationalistic to establish his points.
Perhaps if more people were willing to think and develop cogent arguments the way Coates does, it would be much easier to change the conversation and focus on the obvious issues at hand: the misuse of the human construct of race and whiteness in order to demoralize and subordinate minorities, and the danger America faces if those in power continue to embrace escapist attitudes instead of calling racism what it is and confronting it accordingly.
Works Cited
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. “The First White President.” The Atlantic, Atlantic
Media Company, 14 Sept 2017,the www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive
2017/10/the-first-white-president-ta-nehisi-coates/537909/.
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. “The GOP ‘Has Been Playing With Fire’”. Interview by Chris
Hayes. All In with Chris Hayes, MSNBC, 6 Oct. 2017.
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. “Trump Is The First White President”. Interview by Stephen
Colbert. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. 3 Oct. 2017.
