With the 2020 presidential election on the horizon, many Americans are interested in learning more about the types of people who would join them in support of certain candidates. The two most radical candidates in the coming election are the self-proclaimed socialist Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., and far-right president Donald Trump. Trump has run under a consistent banner of bringing jobs and business back to America and strengthening border security, while the Sanders campaign has emphasized enforcing welfare and implementing universal healthcare.
For many readers like myself, this will be the first time we participate in an American election, and unfortunately, many of us are uninformed when it comes to the candidates for whom we will vote. To better understand these two campaigns and the support behind them, I signed up myself and two 18-year-old classmates — Luca Cartewright and Ava Healy of Boston Latin Academy — to receive emails from each campaign. By looking at them, not only can we learn more about the attitudes of the campaigns themselves, but also the kind of rhetoric that their supporters respond to.
The largest differences between the campaign emails were in the way they communicate their message to the reader. While the emails from the Sanders campaign were signed by his campaign manager, a person who conceivably could have written them, the Trump emails sought to suggest they were from a member of our president’s family, or even the president himself. Emails from the Trump campaign often worked to compound this idea of direct communication by referring to the email recipient by their first name, and by including a picture of the person they were “signed” by next to the signature. The Sanders campaign emails made no such attempt to connect with supporters on a personal level. This difference would suggest that supporters of the Trump campaign enjoy a strong feeling of individuality, while constant references to numerous supporters in the Sanders emails suggest that his supporters prefer to feel like part of a massive collective.
The tones of the emails also greatly contrast with each other. The Trump emails make a grand effort when it comes to maintaining the illusion of the recipient being spoken to directly by the president, with quotes like, “I really want to meet you, [recipient]. I’m having a very important, very exclusive lunch that day, and I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather share it with.” One of my classmates, Cartewright, claimed that she could hear [Trump’s] voice when reading the emails. One would think that the campaign would work to tone down the often-critiqued brash nature of its candidate, but it seems that Trump supporters enjoy the straightforward look it presents.
The Sanders campaign emails, on the other hand, significantly tone down any raw emotions their candidate may express. They take a more humble approach when asking for money, and use far softer language when explaining why Sanders supporters should donate. “In just a moment, I am going to ask you to make a contribution to Bernie 2020, our campaign for president. Please give me a chance to explain why this request — especially right now — is so important.”
Trump emails will often capitalize words haphazardly in an attempt to express the dire situation the country is in, and use words like “Need” and “Erase” to illustrate how serious the outcome of the election is. The emails of the Sanders campaign use a different method, using encouraging language and saying things like “thousands of people across the country are already out there on phones, at doors, and on the streets sharing their stories and shoring up support for the America we want to see.”
The most important discovery made by myself and my classmates was the main similarity in both campaigns: How they paint a picture of the opposition. In both campaigns, the opposing party is portrayed as not representing the “average person” in America. The Sanders campaign says that all other candidates are funded by unnamed “Big Corporations,” and the Trump campaign takes a similar angle of saying that liberals are funded by “Hollywood” and “Fake News.” Both work to paint a picture of themselves and their supporters fighting as the underdog against some massive conspiracy within the opposing party.
The most important discovery made by myself and my classmates was the main similarity in both campaigns: How they paint a picture of the opposition. In both campaigns, the opposing party is portrayed as not representing the “average person” in America. The Sanders campaign says that all other candidates are funded by unnamed “Big Corporations,” and the Trump campaign takes a similar angle of saying that liberals are funded by “Hollywood” and “Fake News.” Both work to paint a picture of themselves and their supporters fighting as the underdog against some massive conspiracy within the opposing party.
As both my classmates noted, “The emails are mainly looking for money.” The end goal of these campaign strategies, extracting donations from supporters, is something they share. Since both campaigns are radical versions of their given political ideology, it makes sense that their base would respond well to the same emotions. Namely, fear, anger and a feeling of authenticity. As the election draws closer, it is important for those voting not only to be aware of who they are standing behind but also to be aware of the kind of people standing with them.