Production Report

Here I'll be showing you what I've been producing. Yay.

Content Idea

• Paragraph 1: He's not what people think and here's why:
• Not a great businessman 
• Thin skinned
• Does not have a solid view on ANYTHING
• Doesn't actually fund his own campaign 
• Generally debunk things people think about Donald Trump
• My source: My man John Oliver

What It actually Became:

The thing about mental illness in this kind of realm is that they lead someone to put off a very different persona than that of who they really are. Narcissist have an inflated sense of ego and self, (“If you have narcissistic personality disorder, you may come across as conceited, boastful or pretentious”- Mayo Clinic) so naturally they brag about all of their accomplishments and keep their failures well under wraps. This sometimes, not always but definitely in Trump’s case leads to a habit of pathological lying- these illnesses and actions combined creates a whole new character, which demands to be maintained as to not reveal the aforementioned lying. This is exactly what Trump has done. He’s created the notion that he’s a terrific businessman, a thick-skinned tough guy, tells it like it is and funds his own campaign, which are all very untrue.

So let’s start with the “fact” that he’s a grand businessman who can’t be defeated. Have you ever heard of Trump Steaks, Trump Vodka, Trump Magazine, Trump World Magazine, Trump Shuttle or gotrump.com (the website exclusively made for booking on Trump Shuttle)? No? Interesting. Because those are all businesses of Trump’s which failed, that he doesn’t want anyone to know about even though that information is easily accessible to almost anyone. Which is another interesting fact about narcissists- they do their best not to be caught in their lies but still don’t really care, because if they’re ever confronted about it they will just keep lying about it until they feel like they’re in the clear. 

Moving on, Trump is not “tough” or “thick skinned” in the slightest. One person, one single time made a comment about Trump’s fingers being to short, and to this day, Trump sends this man photos of his fingers circled with writing like “not so short.” And this is yet another textbook characteristic of a narcissist. Mayo Clinic says that “You have trouble handling anything that may be perceived as criticism… To feel better, you may react with rage or contempt and try to belittle the other person to make yourself appear superior” (Mayo Clinic) Is this not exactly what he’s doing by lashing out like this? I’ll discuss this more later and come back to his narcissistic and sociopathic tendencies.

Another reason people love Trump is that he’s an outsider and pays for his own campaign, which is not true. If you go to his campaign website, you’ll find not one but two “donate” buttons. Additionally, the numbers he claims he’s spent on his own campaign vary by million of dollars. Not only that, but he hasn’t actually spent his own money here. He can loan himself money for the campaign and until it’s over, he can pay himself back for those loans. I know this sounds the same as funding yourself but it is most definitely not. When all is said and done,Trump will end up having used a very small amount of his own money on his campaign. 

The last thing I’ll debunk about Trump is that he most definitely tells nothing like it is. He’s been pro-life and pro-choice, for and against admitting Syrian refugees, and he’s contradicted himself so many times that people have actually edited video of him to make a Trump v. Trump debate. Most recently, he said that Planned Parenthood provides affordable healthcare to women and abortions are a very small percentage of services that they provide (which is actually true!) and said that abortion laws in this country should not change. However, he later and more recently said that women who have abortions should be punished. I understand that keeping Planned Parenthood open and punishing those who seek abortion could go together, but they are extremely incompatible, especially when you factor in that he’s said abortion laws in this country shouldn’t change. Plainly stated, Trump has no idea what he’s talking about.  

Okay, so one paragraph turned into a bunch, but I'm trying to make this readable here. Also I wish I could just make an attachment like you can in an email, because you can't see the notes I made for myself about stuff I have to add. 

Audience Questions:

1. I used form to expand what I had here. I had a great source for the point that I wanted to make not to mention some to prove that these actions relate to a mental illness, so after this I just need to add in text citations after the quotes- but those were put in absolutely because it's a genre convention. So form definitely influenced my choices.

2. The production went really smoothly! I just wanted to get all my ideas out onto the page, and I'll come back and edit, add, and cite on my way back.