This week, I engaged with two programs. I watched the November 17th State of the Union by CNN, and I listened to the On the Media podcast from November 15th titled “Designed to Intimidate.” Jake Tapper from CNN spoke with his guests about President Trump tweeting his opinion about Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanivitch during her testimony, the rise in polls favoring Mayor Pete Buttigieg for the Democratic candidate, and a short segment on how children’s television host Fred Rogers would perceive today’s politics. On the Media hosts, Brooke Gladstone and Bob Garfield also discussed the impeachment hearings and public opinion, as well as how billionaires influence the market and politics. Two segments, which made an impression on me, from the State of the Union episode were the Ukrainian perspective and the Mr. Rogers segment to make a point.
Based off a recent Ukrainian news report, they are not going to hold President Trump accountable for extortion. The Ukraine foreign minister claimed in a Ukraine news report, “Yes, the investigations were mentioned, you know, in the conversation of the president, but there was no clear connection between these events,” (“State of the Union”). Although the Ukrainians may have been aware of some correlation between the aid and Biden investigations, President Trump could revoke the security aid at any time if Ukraine decided to “take on the president” (“State of the Union”). I think they will try to stay in President Trump’s good favor because they still rely on him to supply them with resources to protect their country. While the Ukrainian view of no quid pro quo is in line with President Trump’s, some people refuse to respect those who hold conflicting perspectives to their own.
The portion of State of the Union about American television personality Mr. Rogers made me think about electronic media regulation regarding children’s programming. According to Jake Tapper, Mr. Roger’s worldview, “depended on civility…[and] treating everyone, even the bullies, even those who advocate for policies we find abhorrent, treating all of us as children of God who are special and deserve love” (“State of the Union”). Although the CNN segment did not have Mr. Roger’s appear in a commercial and sell products, Tapper used his reputation to try to persuade or sell an idea about how to envision the world. Mr. Rogers is an iconic figure who may have influenced many CNN audience members growing up. By using his image and values, which resonates with CNN viewers, I think Tapper effectively used pathos to remind and encourage his audience to respect other people even if they hold viewpoints differing from their own.
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