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Abstract
This analysis examines the separation strategies and post-crisis discourse of renewal efforts of Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte during the 2016 election. Ayotte initially used a separation strategy to suggest that she “supported” the Republican nominee but did not “endorse” Donald Trump. After she disavowed Trump following the Access Hollywood scandal, Ayotte focused her renewal efforts on mitigating the damage from previously supporting Trump while creating a positive image for voters as an independent voice in the Senate. While Ayotte was ultimately unsuccessful in retaining her Senate seat, this article argues Ayotte’s renewal discourse was effective. During her debate performances, Ayotte effectively linked her opponent to Hillary Clinton and visualized her future as a U.S. senator that would stand up for New Hampshire citizens. Implications are drawn concerning how political candidates can adopt renewal discourse when attempting to mitigate the damage from a crisis by visualizing a positive future.
Notes
[1] Adam Edelman, “Sweep Nothings: Trump Takes All 5 Primaries Hil Grabs 4 States, Bernie Snags R.I.,” New York Daily News, April 27, 2016, 8.
[2] “Indiana Primary Results,” New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/primaries/indiana?mcubz=2 (accessed September 29, 2016).
[3] Joseph Rago, “The Senate GOP’s Trump Survival Plan,” Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2016, A9.
[4] “NH Sen. Ayotte will Support—but Not Endorse—Trump,” New Hampshire Union Leader, http://www.unionleader.com/article/20160504/NEWS0605/160509712&template=mobileart#sthash.M8o9Gj6G.dpuf (accessed May 4, 2016).
[5] Scot Lehigh, “Republicans Contemplate Their Nominee,” Boston Globe, May 11, 2016, A11.
[6] David A. Fahrenthold, “Trump Recorded Having Extremely Lewd Conversation About Women in 2005,” The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html?utm_term=.fe4c7fdb82ca (accessed October 8, 2016).
[7] Fahrenthold, “Trump Recorded Having Extremely Lewd Conversation About Women in 2005.”
[8] Harry Enten, “Trump is More Unpopular than Clinton is—And that Matters,” FiveThirtyEight, http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/trump-is-more-unpopular-than-clinton-is-and-that-matters/ (accessed September 30, 2016).
[9] “The Republican Crisis,” National Review, http://www.nationalreview.com/article/440924/donald-trump-access-hollywood-tape-republican-party-crisis (accessed October 10, 2016).
[10] See, for example: William L. Benoit, “Image Repair in President Bush’s April 2004 News Conference,” Public Relations Review 32 (2006): 137–43; Brooke F. Liu, “From Aspiring Presidential Candidate to Accidental Racist? An Analysis of Senator George Allen’s Image Repair During His 2006 Reelection Campaign,” Public Relations Review 34 (2008): 331–36; Ryan Shepard, “Toward a Theory of Simulated Atonement: A Case Study of President George W. Bush’s Response to the Abu Ghraib Torture Scandal,” Communication Studies 60 (2009): 460–75; Corey B. Davis, “An Inconvenient Vote: Hillary Clinton’s Iraq War Image Repair Debate Strategies and Their Implications for Representative Democracy,” Public Relations Review 39 (2013): 315–19; Joshua M. Bentley, “Shifting Identification: A Theory of Apologies and Pseudo-Apologies,” Public Relations Review 41 (2015): 22–29; William L. Benoit, “Barack Obama’s 2008 Speech on Reverend Wright: Defending Self and Others,” Public Relations Review 42 (2016): 843–48; J. Scott Smith, “With a Little Help from My Wife: An Examination of Anthony Weiner’s Image Repair Discourse through Third-Party Defense and a Postcrisis Discourse of Renewal,” The Northwest Journal of Communication 44 (2016): 35–61.
[11] See, for example: Leonard Snyder, “An Anniversary Review and Critique: the Tylenol Crisis,” Public Relations Review 9 (1983): 24–34; William L. Benoit and James J. Lindsey, “Argument Strategies: Antidote to Tylenol’s Poisoned Image,” Journal of the American Forensic Association 23 (1987): 136–46; James A. Benson, “Crisis Revisited: An Analysis of Strategies Used by Tylenol in the Second Tampering Episode,” Central States Speech Journal 39 (1988): 49–66; William L. Benoit, Accounts, Excuses, and Apologies: A Theory of Image Restoration Strategies (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1995), 119–32; Lisa Tyler, “Liability Means Never Being Able to Say You’re Sorry,” Management Communication Quarterly 11 (1997): 51–73; Susan L. Brinson and William L. Benoit, “The Tarnished Star: Restoring Texaco’s Damaged Public Image,” Management Communication Quarterly 12 (1999): 483–510; Timothy Coombs and Lainen Schmidt, “An Empirical Analysis of Image Restoration: Texaco’s Racism Crisis,” Journal of Public Relations Research 12 (2000): 163–78; John A Fortunato, “Restoring a reputation: the Duke University Lacrosse Scandal,” Public Relations Review 34 (2008): 116–23; Derina R. Holtzhausen and Glen F. Roberts, “An Investigation into the Role of Image Repair Theory in Strategic Conflict Management,” Journal of Public Relations Research 21 (2009): 165–86; Maria E. Len-Rios, “Image Repair Strategies, Local News Portrayals and Crisis Stage: A Case Study of Duke University’s Lacrosse Team Crisis,” International Journal of Strategic Communication 4 (2010): 267–87.
[12] Ron Johnson, Richard Burr, Marco Rubio, Todd Young, Roy Blunt all supported Trump. Pat Toomey suggested he would vote for but not endorse Trump. See, Blake Neff, “Republicans Dominated the Senate Races, Except the Ones Who Dumped Trump,” Daily Caller, http://dailycaller.com/2016/11/10/republicans-dominated-the-senate-races-except-the-ones-who-dumped-trump/ (accessed November 10, 2016).
[13] Matthew W. Seeger and Robert R. Ulmer, “A Post-Crisis Discourse of Renewal: the Cases of Malden Mills and Cole Hardwoods,” Journal of Applied Communication Research 30 (2002): 126–42.
[14] Robert R. Ulmer, Matthew W. Seeger, and Timothy L. Sellnow, “Post-Crisis Communication and Renewal: Expanding the Parameters of Post-Crisis Discourse,” Public Relations Review 33 (2007): 131.
[15] Liu, “From Aspiring Presidential Candidate to Accidental Racist?” 335.
[16] Benoit, “Image Repair in President Bush’s April 2004 News Conference,” 143.
[17] Smith, “With a Little Help from My Wife,” 58.
[18] Bentley, “Shifting Identification: A Theory of Apologies and Pseudo-Apologies,” 27.
[19] Bentley, “Shifting Identification: A Theory of Apologies and Pseudo-Apologies,” 27.
[20] Benoit, “Barack Obama’s 2008 Speech on Reverend Wright,” 843–848.
[21] Brinson and Benoit, “The Tarnished Star,” 483–510.
[22] Brinson and Benoit, “The Tarnished Star,” 507.
[23] Snyder, “An Anniversary Review and Critique: the Tylenol Crisis,” 24–34; Benoit and Lindsey, “Argument Strategies: Antidote to Tylenol’s Poisoned Image,” 136–46; Benson, “Crisis Revisited: An Analysis of Strategies Used by Tylenol in the Second Tampering Episode,” 49–66.
[24] Benoit, Accounts, Excuses, and Apologies, 119–32; Tyler, “Liability Means Never Being Able to Say You’re Sorry,” 51–73.
[25] Coombs and Schmidt, “An Empirical Analysis of Image Restoration: Texaco’s Racism Crisis,” 163–78.
[26] Holtzhausen and Roberts, “An Investigation into the Role of Image Repair Theory in Strategic Conflict Management,” 165–86.
[27] Len-Rios, “Image Repair Strategies, Local News Portrayals and Crisis Stage,” 267–87.
[28] Len-Rios, “Image Repair Strategies, Local News Portrayals and Crisis Stage,” 270.
[29] Fortunato, “Restoring a Reputation: the Duke University Lacrosse Scandal,” 120.
[30] Seeger and Ulmer, “A Post-Crisis Discourse of Renewal,” 127.
[31] Seeger and Ulmer, “A Post-Crisis Discourse of Renewal,” 127.
[32] Matthew W. Seeger, Robert R. Ulmer, Julie M. Novak, and Timothy Sellnow, “Post-Crisis Discourse and Organizational Change, Failure and Renewal,” Journal of Organizational Change Management 18 (2005): 78–95.
[33] Sarah J. Nelson and Jennifer L. Reierson, “New Leader, New Path: BP’s Redemption through a Post-Crisis Shift in Rhetorical Strategies following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Explosion and Spill,” Journal of the Communication, Speech & Theatre Association of North Dakota 25 (2013): 23–52.
[34] Ulmer, Seeger, and Sellnow, “Post-Crisis Communication and Renewal,” 130–34.
[35] See, for example: Joseph R. Blaney and William L. Benoit, The Clinton Scandals and the Politics of Image Restoration (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2001); William L. Benoit, “President Bush’s Image Repair Effort on Meet the Press: the Complexities of Defeasibility,” Journal of Applied Communication Research 34 (2006): 285–306; Cesar Garcia, “Sex Scandals: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Image Repair Strategies in the Cases of Bill Clinton and Silvio Berlusconi,” Public Relations Review 37 (2011): 292–98; Davis, “An Inconvenient Vote.”
[36] Smith, “With a Little Help from My Wife,” 35–61.
[37] Brinson and Benoit, “The Tarnished Star,” 502–06.
[38] Benoit, Accounts, Excuses, and Apologies, 76–96.
[39] Seeger and Ulmer, “A Post-Crisis Discourse of Renewal,” 127.
[40] Ulmer, Seeger, and Sellnow, “Post-Crisis Communication and Renewal,” 131–32.
[41] Alan Rappeport, “Judge Faulted by Trump has Faced a lot Worse,” New York Times, June 4, 2016, A12.
[42] Janet Hook, “Trump, Under Fire, Rallies Supporters,” Wall Street Journal, June 7, 2016, A1.
[43] Hook, “Trump, Under Fire, Rallies Supporters,” A1.
[44] “‘This Week’ Transcript: Donald Trump, Vice President Joe Biden, and Ret. Gen. John Allen,” ABC News, http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-donald-trump-vice-president-joe-biden/story?id=41020870 (accepted July 31, 2016).
[45] Kate Zezima, “Trump Clash with Khans Escalates,” Washington Post, August 1, 2016, A1.
[46] Alexander Burns, Maggie Haberman, and Ashley Parker, “Trump Struggles in Feud with Fallen G.I.’s Family,” New York Times, August 1, 2016, A1.
[47] Former Republican State Senator Jack Barnes supported Ayotte and called for party members to stand up to Trump. See, Dan Tuohy, “Trump and Gold Star Family: NH GOP Outrage Frows,” New Hampshire Union Leader, http://www.unionleader.com/voters-first/trump-and–gold-star-family-nh-gop-outrage-grows-20160803 (accepted August 2, 2016).
[48] Nik DeCosta-Klipa, “Following Criticism from Fellow Republicans, Donald Trump Singles Out Kelly Ayotte,” Boston, https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2016/08/02/following-criticism-fellow-republicans-donald-trump-singles-kelly-ayotte (accepted August 2, 2016).
[49] Andrew E. Smith and Zachary S. Azem, “Ayotte and Hassan Remain Deadlocked in NH Senate Race,” UNH Survey Center, https://www.cola.unh.edu/survey-center/ayotte-and-hassan-remain-deadlocked-nh-senate-race-72016 (accepted July 20, 2016).
[50] Rucker, “Trump Refuses to Endorse Paul Ryan in GOP Primary.”
[51] Stephanie Ebbert, “Ayotte, Despite Criticism from Trump, Maintains Support,” Boston Globe, August 3, 2016, A1.
[52] Ebbert, “Ayotte, Despite Criticism,” A1.
[53] Dan Tuohy, “Ayotte Burned by ‘Role Model,’” Union Leader, October 5, 2016, A1.
[54] Tuohy, “Ayotte Burned by ‘Role Model,’” A1.
[55] Jennifer Steinhauer, “Trump as Role Model? A Senator’s ‘Absolutely’ Turns into ‘I Misspoke,’” New York Times, October 5, 2016, A14.
[56] Kelly Ayotte, “My Statement on Tonight’s Debate,” Twitter, https://twitter.com/KellyAyotte/status/783136010200715264/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnews%2Fthe-fix%2Fwp%2F2016%2F10%2F04%2Fkelly-ayottes-donald-trump-agony-continues%2F (accepted October 3, 2016).
[57] E. J. Dionne, “How Trump ‘Absolutely’ Corrupts the GOP,” Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-trump-absolutely-corrupts-the-gop/2016/10/05/1b218f62-8b27-11e6-875e-2c1bfe943b66_story.html?utm_term=.c1d047a30823 (accepted October 5, 2016).
[58] Benoit, “Barack Obama’s 2008 Speech on Reverend Wright,” 845.
[59] By mid-October, only 42% of likely voters approved of Hillary Clinton. See Scott Clement and Dan Balz, “Washington Post-ABC News Poll: Clinton Holds Four-Point Lead in Aftermath of Trump Tape,” Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/washington-post-abc-news-poll-clinton-holds-four-point-lead-in-aftermath-of-trump-tape/2016/10/15/c31969a4-9231-11e6-9c52-0b10449e33c4_story.html?utm_term=.5aba87475b64 (accepted October 16, 2016).
[60] Daniella Diaz, “Ayotte Says Trump ‘Absolutely’ a Role Model for Kids in NH Debate, Later Says She Misspoke,” CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/03/politics/kelly-ayotte-new-hampshire-donald-trump-debate/index.html (accepted October 4, 2016).
[61] Fahrenthold, “Trump Recorded Having Extremely Lewd Conversation About Women in 2005.”
[62] Jennifer Steinhauer, “Though He is ‘Sickened’ by Remarks, Ryan is Still a Reluctant Supporter,” New York Times, October 9, 2016, A28.
[63] Alan Rappeport, “John McCain Withdraws Support for Donald Trump After
Disclosure of Recording,” New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/08/us/politics/presidential-election.html (accepted October 9, 2016).
[64] Kristina Peterson and Siobhan Hughes, “Senate Republicans Break Away from Donald Trump After Release of Video,” Wall Street Journal, https://www.wsj.com/articles/senate-republicans-break-away-from-donald-trump-after-release-of-video-1475968824 (accepted October 8, 2016).
[65] As quoted in Kevin Landrigan, “Ayotte Dumps Trump,” New Hampshire Sunday News, October 9, 2016, A1.
[66] As quoted in Laura Crimaldi and James Pindell, “Ayotte Abandons Support for Trump: Senator Says She will Write in Pence’s Name,” Boston Globe, October 9, 2016, B1.
[67] See Crimaldi and Pindell, “Ayotte Abandons Support for Trump,” B1.
[68] Seeger and Ulmer, “A Post-Crisis Discourse of Renewal,” 127.
[69] “New Hampshire Senate Debate,” C-Span, https://www.c-span.org/video/?417199-1/new-hampshire-senate-debate (October 14, 2016); “New Hampshire Senate Debate,” C-Span, https://www.c-span.org/video/?417411-1/new-hampshire-senate-debate (accepted October 27, 2016); “New Hampshire Senate Debate,” C-Span, https://www.c-span.org/video/?417832-1/new-hampshire-senate-debate (accepted November 2, 2016).
[70] Smith, “With a Little Help from My Wife,” 58.
[71] Seeger and Ulmer, “A Post-Crisis Discourse of Renewal,” 127.
[72] During the October 27, 2016 debate Ayotte stated, “I voted to expand it [Medicaid], because I want New Hampshire based solutions and new ways to craft ways to better serve people who need help, not just Washington telling us how to do it.”
[73] Ayotte argued that standing up to both parties was an important issue in the New Hampshire senate race during all three debates. During the October 14, 2016 debate, she stated, “This race is about who’s going to stand up in New Hampshire no matter what.” During the October 27, 2016 debate, she stated, “I am standing up for you. That is what I am always going to do, because I think about the people in New Hampshire who are struggling and that is the work that we need to do.” In the November 2, 2016 debate, Ayotte stated, “But I know the only way we’re going to get things done is to stand up to both sides when they are taking us in the wrong direction, but to find common ground, when we can agree to deliver results for our state and for this country. That’s what I have done in the senate. That’s why I am running again.”
[74] Ayotte often referred to her record of bipartisanship to illustrate to New Hampshire voters that she’d continue to be a moderate Republican voice in the Senate. She stated in the October 14, 2016 debate, “Everyday I wake up with a sense of purpose to fight on behalf of the people of New Hampshire and to focus on getting things done for our state whether it’s the heroin bill that I worked for three years to pass on a bipartisan basis.” During the October 27, 2016 debate, she stated, “There is so much more work to do and it’s going to take someone who will stand up to both parties when they are taking us in the wrong direction and also find common ground to work together to deliver results for our state. That’s what I have done in the Senate. That’s why I am running again.” In the October 27th debate, she stated, “Every day I wake up with a sense of purpose to fight for a better quality of life for you and your family. I have one of the most bipartisan records in the Senate because I know the only way we’re going to get things done is by working together.”
[75] During the October 27, 2016 debate, she stated, “I will tell you, I have stood up to my party, unlike the governor, and I will put the priorities of New Hampshire first.” During the same debate, she added, “This is a difference between us. I will stand up to my own party and to the other side. I have one of the most bipartisan records because I am focused on getting things done.”
[76] Art Swift, “More Americans Negative than Positive About ACA,” Gallup, https://www.gallup.com/poll/195383/americans-negative-positive-aca.aspx (accepted September 8, 2016).
[77] Andrew Dugan, “After Nuclear Deal, U.S. Views of Iran Remain Dismal,” Gallup, https://www.gallup.com/poll/189272/after-nuclear-deal-views-iran-remain-dismal.aspx (accepted February 17, 2016).
[78] “Poll: Most Americans Oppose Admitting Syrian Refugees, Favor Limited Military Involvement to Combat ISIS in Syria,” Chicago Council on Global Affairs, https://www.thechicagocouncil.org/press-release/poll-most-americans-oppose-admitting-syrian-refugees-favor-limited-military (accepted August 15, 2016).
[79] Ayotte also defended herself against Koch brothers attacks in the October 14, 2016 debate, stating, “First of all, they are quite critical because I’ve stood up to protecting New Hampshire’s environment.”
[80] Brinson and Benoit, “The Tarnished Star,” 502–506.
[81] Ulmer, Seeger, and Sellnow, “Post-Crisis Communication and Renewal,” 131–32.
[82] Andrew E. Smith and Zachary S. Azem, “Ayotte’s Popularity Takes Hit, Remains in a Dead Heat with Hassan for US Senate Seat,” UNH Survey Center, https://www.cola.unh.edu/survey-center/ayottes-popularity-takes-hit-remains-dead-heat-hassan-us-senate-seat-42016 (accepted April 20, 2016).
[83] Smith and Azem, “Ayotte and Hassan Remain Deadlocked in NH Senate Race.”
[84] Joshua J. Dyck and Francis Talty, “UMass Lowell/7News Survey of New Hampshire Voters,” University of Massachusetts Lowell Center for Public Opinion, https://www.uml.edu/docs/TOPLINE%20-%20UMassLowell-7NEWS%20NH%20GENERAL%2020161013_tcm18-262711.pdf (accepted October 13, 2016).
[85] Ulmer, Seeger, and Sellnow, “Post-Crisis Communication and Renewal,” 131–32.
[86] Chaim Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca, The New Rhetoric: A Treatise on Argumentation (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1969), 365.
[87] Fred Thys, “WBUR Poll Finds a Tightening Presidential Race in N.H.,” WBUR, http://www.wbur.org/politicker/2016/10/14/poll-trump-clinton-new-hampshire (accepted October 14, 2016).
[88] Spencer Kimball, “Emerson College Polls: Ayotte has a 6-point Edge in NH Senate race,” Emerson College Polling Society, https://www.media.wix.com/ugd/3bebb2_16b97664735d4325b018b7b608477434.pdf (accepted October 28, 2016).
[89] Andrew E. Smith and Zachary S. Azem, “Clinton Leads Trump in Final NH Poll, Senate Race Tight,” UNH Survey Center, https://www.cola.unh.edu/sites/cola.unh.edu/files/research_publications/gsp2016_fall_pressengov110616.pdf (accepted November 6, 2016).
[90] Spencer Kimball, “Emerson College Polls: Emerson Map Shows Many Tight Races but a Lopsided Win for Clinton in the Electoral College,” Emerson College Polling Society, https://www.media.wis.com/ugd/3bebb2_4c95f9bb0b874960a67b0cb7c019efd8.pdf (accepted November 7, 2016).
[91] James Pindell, “Fallout in N.H. Race Remains Unclear,” Boston Globe, October 15, 2016, A1.
[92] “Ayotte, Your Most Important Vote,” Union Leader, November 4, 2016, A1.
[93] Brinson and Benoit, “The Tarnished Star,” 506.
[94] Benoit, “Barack Obama’s 2008 Speech on Reverend Wright,” 843–48.
[95] Benoit, “Barack Obama’s 2008 Speech on Reverend Wright,” 846.
[96] Liu, “From Aspiring Presidential Candidate to Accidental Racist?” 335.
[97] Benoit, “Image Repair in President Bush’s April 2004 News Conference,” 143.
[98] Brinson and Benoit, “The Tarnished Star,” 501.
[99] Pindell, “Fallout in N.H. Race Remains Unclear,” A1.
[100] Ulmer, Seeger, and Sellnow, “Post-Crisis Communication and Renewal,” 132.
[101] Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca, The New Rhetoric, 365.
[102] Ulmer, Seeger, and Sellnow, “Post-Crisis Communication and Renewal,” 132.
[103] Bentley, “Shifting Identification: A Theory of Apologies and Pseudo-Apologies,” 27.
[104] Smith, “With a Little Help from My Wife,” 58.