What a whirlwind these last two weeks have been! Kamala Harris’ entry into the Presidential race has totally transformed the political landscape. Political preferences aside, the Metaphor Minute is interested in the role metaphors played, and will play, in the election outcome. “Political discourse is necessarily profoundly metaphorical; the language of politics is knee-deep in and entirely shot-through by different metaphorical uses…No surprise… Politics, after all is the art of using power in order to achieve goals. While some power can be exercised through the army and the police, far more can be accomplished – and more easily and cheaply – through the power of language.” (1)
Metaphorically speaking, when you look at the Trump/Biden/Harris campaigns, a stark difference emerges. That difference holds a lesson for everyone in business, where language, also, can make the difference between winning and losing.
Trump
The Trump team really understands the power of metaphorical language. The Trump campaign has consistently and successfully rallied its followers invoking easily understood, highly charged imagery: “American carnage;” illegal immigrants as “vermin;” immigration as an “invasion;” “fake news,” etc. This strategy was also used against opponents by giving them names to instantly frame our perception of them: “Sleepy Joe,” “Lying Ted Cruz,” etc.
Positive or negative, Trump’s concrete images are easily grasped, highly evocative, and easily remembered. In short, they deliver a strong mental and emotional punch. [“Vermin.” Ugh!] “Warrior: I 
will fight for you.” Yes!]. Impact!
Biden
The Biden team rarely matched the Trump team for impact when it came to using metaphors. Instead, they relied, for the most part, on invoking sentiments/concepts like “protecting democracy;” “uniting the best of us;” “choose hope over fear, facts over fiction, fairness over privilege.”
However eloquent, those sentiments — by themselves — just don’t pack the same wallop. [“Wait, I have to think: What does that mean? and, then, How do I feel about that?”].
These ideas need a concluding, easily remembered metaphor to lock in the message, e.g., “Bottom-line, this is a choice between living under the principles of Putin’s Pal or the principles of the Founding Fathers.” Impact!
Trump vs. Harris
As of this writing, according to the news, Trump’s messaging campaign is in disarray as his team tries to figure out how to go after the Harris/Walz ticket. As for the Harris camp, it is early, but setting up the contrast between the new, concrete “old man” vs. ‘the next generation” images and the “Past” vs the “Future” seems to be working. [That said, maybe “weird” will be the framing phrase that turns out to trump the metaphors of both parties!] We’ll see.
In Your World
I will leave it to the experts on both sides to figure out their messaging. In the meantime, the message here for your business is not that you need to be negative, but that when you present a concept, drive it home with a concrete metaphor or analogy for maximum impact:
- Instantly visualized
- Emotionally laden
- Easily remembered
As for the election, to paraphrase Bette Davis in the movie, “All About Eve”, “Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy ride!”
Anne Miller
Make What You Say Pay! – with Metaphors
(1) Erik Ringmar, The Power of Metaphor: Consent, Dissent and Revolution
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
Recommended
If you want to delve deeper into the the role emotions play in politics, I highly recommend the very readable and fascinating The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding The Fate of the Nation by Drew Westen, clinical psychologist and political strategist, Emory University.
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