Analyse af Robin Givhans 'Flying the flag of fascism for Trump'

Analytical essay - Robin Givhan “Flying the flag of fascism for Trump”

How does Robin Givhan present her message? Givhan’s critical viewpoint on the attack on the Capitol and how it influences the US and its government are the focus in Robin Givhan’s quality press article “Flying the flag of fascism for Trump,” published on January 7 in The Washington Post. The article centers around the storming of the Capitol initiated by Trump and how that is a threat to democracy.

Robin Givhan’s intentions with the article are to portray a critical aspect of the attack, the Trump supporters, and how Trump tends to influence his supporters in an immoral way. A method of criticism Givhan takes advantage of is the use of negative connotations when referring to the specific incident and the Trump supporters who were to blame. This method is present in this quotation: ”These violent and angry mobs of men and women called themselves patriots — despoiling a beautiful and mighty word.” The words “violent” and “angry” are pointing towards a negative understanding of Trump supporters and have the effect of persuading the reader. In addition to this point, one can deduce that the intended receiver of Givhan’s article is the people who are against Trump and his democratic viewpoint. Throughout the article, Givhan gives a characterization of the people who attacked the Capitol: “Are they traitors? Terrorists? Radicals? Thugs? They are all of those things — a national quilt of our worst impulses and characteristics. They are young and old. They are men. They are women.” In this quotation, Givhan characterizes them as “terrorists”, “traitors”, “impulsive”, again by using negative connotations. Through Givhan’s intentions, it is distinct to deduce how she presents her message from a critical standpoint in order to appeal to the reader.