The science and sophistry behind Donald Trump’s campaign slogan
Just over a week remains until the U.S. presidential election. And despite the threat of COVID-19, Donald Trump has returned to his campaign events and rallies, where supporters are frequently seen holding signage indicating “Make America Great Again.”
MAGA is the acronym for Trump’s slogan that was established for his 2016 presidential campaign. But the slogan has hung around, largely prevailing over his 2020 campaign slogan, “Keep America Great!”
Slogans are commonly considered shorthand for an organization’s main message. Strategically, attempts are usually made to differentiate from competitors. Consequently, if a foundational issue of one political party concerns the environment while another political party identifies the economy as a primary issue for campaign purposes, then their respective slogans should accordingly reflect such priorities.
Ironically, the MAGA slogan appeals to nationalistic sentiment yet suggests the country is no longer great, though it once was. To fulfil the brand promise and reattain “greatness,” the country presumably needs to become significant, important and preeminent again.
In 2016, the slogan seemingly mirrored Trump’s own human brand dilemma. Facing declining TV ratings on “The Apprentice” and mounting debts, Trump’s initial presidential run was likely driven by the desire to generate publicity and revitalize his brand.
Surely, the 2016 slogan was also developed to contrast with Obama’s positive messaging, and meant to imply that America was no longer great after eight years of Democrat leadership.
Political campaign slogans generally tend to be ambiguous on purpose. The reader — or voter — can interpret what they desire from a given slogan.
Trump has not clearly established when, specifically, he considered America to be great and when the country apparently lost such standing. Nevertheless, as he seeks reelection, the prevailing use of his 2016 slogan is telling. After four years of his leadership, this observation suggests that Trump was unable to make America great again, or an admission that his brand promise has gone unfulfilled.
There is additional meaning that we can take away from the MAGA slogan and branding.
Although mention of America in the MAGA slogan — in contrast to the USA — might appear mundane, the distinction is noteworthy given how polarized the country has become politically. Despite his leadership role, Trump has not delivered messages suggesting unity among the U.S. states and regions.
Nevertheless, Trump’s MAGA red hats also depict the American flag on the side. But, importantly, the U.S. Flag Code specifies that the flag should not be used for advertising purposes. Doing so is regarded as disrespectful.
Being a vague claim, MAGA exemplifies puffery. In advertising, puffery is a term that refers to overly exaggerated, unsubstantiated messages, and also describes opinion-based claims. Interestingly, puffery is commonly used as a legal defence in response to marketing communication alleged to be misleading. The core reason regulatory authorities often do not consider puffery as deceptive is the presumption that “reasonable” people should not perceive puffed claims believable.
Given Trump’s penchant to exaggerate and offer unsubstantiated opinions, his adoption of a puffed political campaign slogan appears, paradoxically, true to his brand.