Speakers Need Research: The Continuing Case of Donald Trump?

Donald Trump speaks to business leaders in Japan

Speakers need to do their homework before they say something, but I added a question mark to this blog post's title because the context of President Donald Trump's latest mistake remains unclear. Did he make a mistake at all, or did he just phrase his point a bit carelessly?

In a rambling, partly extemporaneous speech to American and Japanese businesspeople yesterday, Mr. Trump praised United States economic growth, complained about the United States trade deficit with Japan, and then said this:
 
"And we love it when you build cars -- if you're a Japanese firm, we love it -- try building your cars in the United States instead of shipping them over. Is that possible to ask? That's not rude. Is that rude? I don't think so. (Laughter.) If you could build them. But I must say, Toyota and Mazda -- where are you? Are you here, anybody? Toyota? Mazda? I thought so. Oh, I thought that was you. That's big stuff. Congratulations. Come on, let me shake your hand. (Applause.) They're going to invest $1.6 billion in building a new manufacturing plant, which will create as many as 4,000 new jobs in the United States. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. (Applause.)"
(I added the italics.)

The mainstream press jumped on Trump's statement because he implied that Japanese companies are not building cars in the United States. But is that what he meant?

Mr. Trump did, a moment later, talk about a Toyota-Mazda project in the United States. Second, he may have simply extemporized over his intended comment. He also promised quick approval for Japanese plants being built in the United States. Maybe he meant to say this: "And we love it when you build cars [in the U.S.A] . . ." but rushed to make his next point before he finished his previous point. Most of us make mistakes like that when we speak off-the-cuff. Still, from his phrasing, he didn't seem to know that about 3/4 of Japanese cars made in North America have final assembly in North American factories. If he had held that fact had firmly in his mind, he probably would have phrased his point more clearly. Research will often prevent a speaker from making mistakes like that.

Also, just before his controversial statement, Mr. Trump said this:

"I also want to recognize the business leaders in the room whose confidence in the United States -- they've been creating jobs -- you have such confidence in the United States, and you've been creating jobs for our country for a long, long time. Several Japanese automobile industry firms have been really doing a job."

That wasn't wrong, but maybe it was a bit unclear. Was he praising Japanese companies for creating jobs in the United States? Or not? Maybe . . .


Lost in the brouhaha is that Mr. Trump also complained that few American cars are exported to Japan, which is absolutely true, and which contributes to the trade imbalance. If he not have made his slip of the tongue, the press might have focused on that more important policy comment.

To his credit, a Washington Post columnist pointed out that Mr. Trump did acknowledge a new Japanese factory being built in the United States, and accused other reporters of "cherry-picking" Trump's comments.

More broadly, when I took college communication classes, my professors pointed out that important people like presidents often read their speeches precisely because the entire world will jump on them if they make a mistake. Judging from the video, Mr. Trump read part of the speech from a text, while extemporizing part of it. His delivery and presentation were much better when he was not reading, but his language was clearer when he was reading. For you and me, off-the-cuff speeches are sometimes the best. For a president, not necessarily so.

I've often blogged to show that speakers need research; for example, here.