During the Republican debate, Donald Trump failed to finish his thoughts as he gave various speeches, suddenly substituting some vague words for more precise ones. His half-completed sentences were not just throwaways but enthymemes which helped him propel his candidature to the top of the national polls before the 2016 election. By leaving such thoughts incomplete or even peppering sentences ambiguities he was able to appear unscripted and insulting his rivals.

 For instance, the assertion that “we have a temporary something, because there is something going on that’s not good” left the audience to fill in the blanks (New York Times, 2016).  The implication in these words is that there was a need to temporary stop the entrance of Muslims into United States due to the problem of terrorism associated with Islamic extremists.  The audience was left to deceiver whatever he was saying and allowed his supporters to align such phrases to their belief.  There was a need to do something even though temporary so as to ensure that the immigration problem from influx of Muslims can be contained (New York Times, 2016).  The use of enthymemes allowed him to consciously or sub-consciously avoiding trapping himself with words that could be used against him by rivals.  

 The choice for this political piece was informed by the clear use of enthymemes. Its employment provides a good example of the use of rhetorical device as a style of persuasive speaking. It indicates a real example of an argument that is not completely stated and the omission of a major proposition enables to drive the point home.

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