Summary And Review Of The Documental Series Episode “The Confidence Man”
Those who are wealthy are praised in society as they are seen as successful figures. They are looked upon as people who worked smart and hard in order to build their affluence. This image is not always true as there are many people who gained their wealth in a corrupt and unethical way.
In the episode, “The Confidence Man” from the docuseries “Dirty Money” showcases the undisclosed scandals Donald Trump committed in order to build his rich empire. Donald Trump’s illustration is one that is seen by its citizens and by the global community as being a hardworking, smart, self-made, and successful businessman; this is a valuable, yet completely inaccurate depiction of Trump as he built his empire with the help of his father and built it in a very immoral and dishonorable way with many failures and bankruptcy throughout his business career. Trump saw the Taj-Mahal as a great business opportunity and said he was completely capable of managing the casino, however, this was a lie. The docu-series persuades a logos appeal as it shows evidence of a piece of paper from court that shows that Trump took under oath in front of the Casino Control Commission claiming that he would have no problem in running the casino business as banks were dying to give him money as it was also going to be low-interest money. He also swore that he did not have to rely on junk bonds. Based on the statements Trump made, the Casino Control Commission approved the license for the Taj Mahal. Shortly after the approval, Trump had actually secured fraud related junk-bonds and the Taj Mahal ended up being the worst casino business disasters of all time. The evidence shows all the promises Trump made, however, it was all lies and goes to show how dishonest and immoral he is. Donald Trump claims he is a self-made entrepreneur and only borrowed a million dollars from his father. This is one of the biggest myths he has put out as he inherited, conservatively, tens of millions of dollars from his father. This episode uses ethos to persuade the audience as it shows a credible speaker by the name of “Jack O'Donell,”who used to work for Donald Trump. Jack states that he witnessed Fred Trump showing up at the casino with $3 million dollars and converted the cash into chips. He put the $3million dollars in the slot and left with all chips which ended up being a $3 million loan to the casino. His dad helped him from his financial mistake as it proves that he is dependent and not the successful independent businessman everyone thinks he is.
Another lie and immoral act Trump committed was that he scammed the students of Trump University. The episode uses an ethos appeal as it interviews credible speakers who were victims of the scam. Trump targeted people who dreamed of becoming wealthy as he promulgated the fact that if you enroll in his course at Trump University, you will become rich. Trump deceived everyone as his courses ended up being a fraud.
The interviewers claimed that the courses didn’t teach them anything about real estate success and used high-pressure sales tactics. This was thousands of students he scammed and put many in debt and made millions of dollars. The evidence from the credible speakers who fell victim proves that Trump is someone who built their wealth in an unethical way using fraud. This docu-series distinctly manifest Trump’s secrets lies that is usually swept under the carpets to the public using various of appeals by using conclusive speakers and evidence showcasing the wicked and unscrupulous businessman he truly is.
