Rhetorical Analysis: Gop Approach To Minorities By Nikki Haley

On September 2, 2015, current United States Ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley gave a speech titled, “Haley: GOP Approach to Minorities is ‘Cold.’” In this conference hosted by The National Press Club, Mrs. Haley addressed the conflicts within the Republican Party involving minorities. She stated, “The problem for our party is that our approach often appears cold and unwelcoming to minorities. That is shameful, and it has to change.” (“Text of Gov.”). During the speech, she used compelling pathos and a strong yet hopeful tone to relate to the audience.With these rhetorical devices, she also used open hand gestures and emphasis of keywords such as “us”, “shameful”, and the phrase “... [this] has to

change!” (“Text of Gov.”). The purpose of Mrs. Haley’s speech was to open the eyes of her audience to the problems that the Republican Party has been coddling. Her audience is those apart of a minority, those within the Republican Party, and the supporters of Nikki Haley herself.
In her speech, Mrs.

Haley used compelling pathological emotions to relate and grasp the attention of her audience. For instance, when asked about the future election of 2016 she replied, “... that’s what’s important to me, I’ve got a son in middle school, I’ve got a daughter who’s a senior in high school, I’ve got a husband who just came back from Afghanistan a year ago...” (“Haley: GOP”). After mentioning her family and their importance in her life the crowd yelled and applauded; this provides evidence that the audience does not consider Nikki Haley a stereotypical politician, but someone just like her supporters, someone who has been apart of the common man’s struggles and responsibilities. This is important in the relevance of her speech because, it brings a small insight of her life to light in this political conference, and makes the audience feel more comfortable with her professional opinion. Without this glimpse of personal information Nikki Haley would perhaps have come off as cold and unattached to the true topic at the matter; the problems between the Republican Party and minorities that have been coddled far too

long.
During Nikki Haley’s speech she also uses a strong yet hopeful tone to communicate her concern with the topic. One example of this tone is shown when Mrs. Haley speaks about a previous conflict her family had with discrimination at a local produce market, “The importance of that story, to me, is not in pointing out that my family and I have faced discrimination in the past… It is to make this clear: a lot of people make the mistake of thinking the South is still like that today. It’s not. I know. I lived through it.” (Pippin, Zach). With this quote Mrs. Haley informs the audience in a strong tone of her experience with past discrimination. However, when Mrs. Haley states that the south has changed and implies that it is a better environment for those apart of minorities she uses a hopeful tone to communicate how the south really has changed. Without these uses of tone Nikki Haley would have perhaps came off as monotone and disinterested in the future of minorities in the south.
As well as these rhetorical devices Mrs. Haley also uses open hand gestures while addressing the audience. This helps boosts her claim because it makes the audience feel welcome to what she has to say rather than feeling demanded or threatened by the use of a clenched fist or pointed finger. For instance, when mentioning the civil rights movement she says, “It’s a movement in which every person, regardless of their skin color is treated equally under the law.”(Pippin, Zach). She uses smooth open hand movements when speak rather than using aggressive hand gestures that other politician might have taken advantage of. Nikki Haley avoids such threatening body language by using the more natural gestures she obtained throughout the speech, this also makes her appear comfortable and relaxed in front of this large crowd. Without these open hand gestures Mrs. Haley would have appeared as demanding towards her audience rather than obtaining the desired appearance of calm cool and collective speecher.
Another use stylistic speaking that Nikki Haley employed in her speech is the emphasis of keywords such as “us”, “shameful”, and the phrase “...

[this] has to change!” (“Text of Gov.”). An example of this can be observed seen when Mrs. Haley speaks on the topic of removing the confederate flag, “One of the lessons of the flag controversy is that if we stop shouting and start listening, we get more accomplished. We should all listen to each other more – we will all benefit from walking in someone else’s shoes.” She emphasises the words, “we”, “all”, “benefit” and “stop” (Pippin, Zach). Without this stylistic emphasis Nikki Haley cold not have expressed her true concern with the topic at

hand.
Nikki Haley related to her audience through enthralling emotions, but still kept a strong tone with emphasis of certain vocabulary and made the audience feel comfortable by using open hand gestures rather than a closed fist. Mrs. Haley’s use of certain rhetorical devices was significant in this speech due relevance of her specific audience and allow her to grasp the attention of those in the Republican Party and those apart of a minority. Her speech is still important today due to the continuing conflicts that many minorities are encountering on a daily basis; she took the gripping topic of discrimination and addressed it to an entire audience with confidence and empowerment needed to convey her argument of change. Without the use of specific rhetorical devices, a stylistic voice, and appropriate body language, Mrs. Haley’s speech would have been dull and uncompelling towards her specific audience.