Public Speaking Rules

Public Speaking Rule #1 is “Know your audience.” Rule #2 is “Use humor, preferably self-deprecating.” Of course, self-deprecation is impossible for Donald J. Trump which leads to Rule #3 “If you can’t make ’em laugh, scare ‘em.”

Last night, Donnie spoke before the Israeli — American Council in D.C. “Know your audience” dictated that he declare his love for all things Jewish (contradicting his 2017 praise of the “fine people on both sides” in Charlottesville who chanted “Jews won’t replace us”). Then he slipped directly to Rule #3:

“If I don’t win this election and the Jewish people will have a lot to do with that…Israel will, in my opinion, cease to exist within two years!”

Donnie’s “opinion” must be valid. The man was president for four years and not only received all that top secret information about foreign countries but kept a lot of classified documents in boxes stacked in bathrooms at Mar-a-Lago for easy reading while sitting on the can. Clearly, he knows what he is talking about. Jewish -American voters should be scared.

Or should they? Israel has nuclear weapons. No country with nuclear weapons has ever “ceased to exist”. If Tel Aviv was under siege and about to fall, dropping a few nukes on Teheran, Gaza, and Beirut would relieve that pressure instantaneously. If anyone with an Internet connection knows that Israel has nukes, why doesn’t that “very stable genius”?

That would ruin the scare tactic.

Of course Donnie blathered on last night, violating Public Speaking Rule #4 (originated by Winston Churchill). “A speech should be like a woman’s dress — Long enough to cover the essentials, but short enough to maintain interest.” Donnie hit on two of four Public Speaking Rules. Good work, Donnie.

By Ed Dufton