Author(s)

Qingwei Zhang

Corresponding Author

Qingwei Zhang

Abstract

Barack Obama, the 44th president of the U.S., has made a lot of political apologies. People all around the world had different comments on his apologies, because he represented the whole country of the U.S. Many would say that his apologies improved the relationships between the U.S. and other foreign countries on the global stage. This paper analyzed Barack Obama’s ‘apology’ to Japan in events, especially the Hiroshima bombing, through his public speeches, the words he used, the actions he did, people’s response to and interaction with him. His good and useful strategies of apologies, which made journalists and governors confused, are analyzed, and several approaches were introduced which were helpful to make apologies, especially for public figures. He rarely used the word ‘sorry’, but apologized in other ways. It was proved that how he made a good apology as a public character. He was a model for making the political apologies the right way, so learning those strategies would make public relations much easier.

Keywords

Effective political apology strategy; Factors; Confusing