Tracking Trump. An Anthropolinguistic Study of Discourse Practice and Political Persona (2024)

Anthropolinguistic Tools to Study Political Linguistics.The Case of Donald Trump’s 2020 Campaign Discourse.

2022

The paper presents an anthropolinguistic study of Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign discourse. The study can be situated within the scope of political linguistics. The interdisciplinary method of research applied here rests upon the understanding of human communication functioning in terms of communicational grammars of specific discourses that comprise rules of language use set against the background of immediate contexts of use. The key idea underbracing this study is that language is a rule-governed, conventions-based system of practice (e.g.

Loved or Hated but Difficult to Ignore: Donald Trump's Image in the U.S. Press during the 2016 Presidential Campaign

2016

The main objective of this bachelor thesis is to analyze image of Donald Trump during the era of 2016 presidential campaign in the United States by means of discourse analysis of extracts from American press. The theoretical part is devoted to terms and concepts such as discourse and discourse analysis, context, standards of textuality and nonverbal communication, followed by concepts of ideology and power within a political discourse, further examining figures of speech, lexical items and pragmatic units which give basis to the notion of power in language. Theory is complemented by two chapters concerning American press and Donald Trump's political and business background, to introduce the context. Final practical part is focused on discourse analysis of newspaper articles from most read American broadsheets and tabloids covering the topic of Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016.

'Call me Daddy': The Politics and Rhetoric of Donald Trump's Homonationalist Discourse in the Wake of Orlando

On the 12th June 2016, 49 people who had been inside a gay club in Orlando were killed at a mass shooting, making it the biggest single-cause death toll on US soil since September 11th 2001. It was also the most fatal targeted mass killing of LGBTQ people in the Western world since the Holocaust (Huffington Post, 2016). This dissertation will endeavour to explore how the Orlando shooting has solidified homonationalism in American political discourse with a unique force. The thesis examines how Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s political rhetoric in response to the Orlando shootings has contributed to the (re)emergence of a gay right-wing Islamophobic political narrative. This gay - pre-dominantly male - right-wing movement has joined Trump’s calls for action against ‘radical Islam’ and ‘political correctness’ (Trump, 2016a). The purpose of this thesis is twofold: to critically analyse Donald Trump’s political rhetoric in response to Orlando, and to question how its ideological effects uphold existing power structures. Three fields of enquiry are used for this dissertation: The first section of this dissertation provides a critical-rhetorical analysis of Donald Trump’s political speech acts in response to the Orlando shootings, known henceforth as “Orlando”. For purposes of concision, the three speeches used as source material in this section are transcripts of those given by Trump as part of his presidential campaign in the eight-week period following Orlando. To do the critical-rhetorical analysis, the framework of Aristotelian rhetoric will be combined with an adaptation of Fairclough’s methodological model of critical discourse analysis (1989; 1995). The aim here is to establish, on a micro-level, elements of the linguistic and discursive practices that have been deployed by the Republican presidential candidate to generate support against ‘radical Islam’ and ‘political correctness’. I explore the three classical dimensions of rhetoric - logos, ethos and pathos – with a focus on wording and grammar, the appeal to emotion, the use of pronouns and the significance of a ‘post-fact’ rhetorical strategy (The Guardian, 2016a). The second section of this analysis moves beyond a series of rhetorical techniques to examine how the ideology created through this political rhetoric has contributed to the (re)emergence of a gay right-wing Islamophobic political narrative. Using macro-level theory, three ideological preoccupations that dominate the rhetoric of Donald Trump and his supporters emerge: (a) national unity and homonationalism, (b) white supremacy and the pervasion of Islamophobic rhetoric, and (c) toxic masculinity as a proposed solution to ‘Othered’ terrorist violence. I contend that homonationalist rhetoric, used to assimilate (certain) LGBT identities into right-wing imaginaries, can have tangible negative violent effects. Therefore, this study will examine the fundamental reorientation of the relationships between language and power, sexual orientation and identity, and the rise of homonationalism and fascism as popular American political ideologies. The social contribution of this dissertation lies in questioning whose interests are served by this homonationalist positioning, and at whose expense. In doing so, it is hoped to broaden understanding for those of whom this is an area of interest. By placing homonationalism under the scrutiny of a contemporaneous context and examining the part it played in the short-term responses to Orlando, this dissertation is intended to contribute to the existing body of research on homonationalism. While there are many linguistic studies that have analysed the rhetorical techniques and language deployed by politicians to reinforce ideologies (Fairclough, 1989; Thomans and Wareing, 1999), the constant change in the political contexts of rhetoric necessitates new research on the field. The importance of its study, when considering the global and life-threatening impact on both LGBTQ and Muslim communities, is undeniable.

Persuasion in Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump's Presidential Debates: A Critical Discourse Analysis

2019

The present study aims to provide a critical discourse analysis of the persuasion tactics, power distribution, and the ideological stands in the American presidential debates of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The methodology adopted in this study was based on Fairclough's model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (1995). The thorough analysis of the debates revealed strong dichotomy and contested ideological stands, dissimilar power distribution, and the use of varying persuasive tools of both candidates on all the issues of concern such as immigration, economy, human rights, etc. The author recommends further investigation of the presidential debates across varying cultures based on Fairclough's model of CDA.

An Always Lost Voice: Rhetoric and Politics during Trump

2020

Branding the President: An Investigation into the Manipulative Tactics Embedded Within a Candidate's Brand Identity

The growth of marketing within a political environment has altered the way in which political candidates address potential voters. Shifting focus from policy centred to image centric, candidates now utilise branding as a key component in their campaign strategy. However, concern arises surrounding the emotionally manipulative aspect of the branding concept. When combined with rhetoric features, the candidate can consciously manipulate the feelings of the audience to induce a desired response. This strategic manipulation of language has the potential to shape a candidate’s brand identity, using it as a device to conceal manipulative behaviours. This study focuses on the 2016 U.S presidential election, assessing the speeches of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton and examined the extent to which manipulative tactics were embedded within the politicians’ brand identity. A multi-tiered investigative procedure was created to examine the link between the brand identity and the rhetorical features, metaphor and mythology. A mixed-method research approach was followed, assessing six speech transcripts through a two-level content analysis. The results identified clear disparities between Trump’s and Clinton’s brand distinctiveness, highlighting the strength of Trump’s brand identity. The study further revealed an overwhelming presence of rhetorical techniques embedded within both candidates’ brand identity. However, the degree to which these were implemented differed between the opponents.

Self-representation in political campaign talk: A functional metadiscourse approach to self-mentions in televised presidential debates

Journal of Pragmatics

Pathetic Politics: An Analysis of Emotion and Embodiment in First Lady Rhetoric

2017

PATHETIC POLITICS: AN ANALYSIS OF EMOTION AND EMBODIMENT IN FIRST LADY RHETORIC by STEPHANIE L. WIDEMAN May 2017 Advisor: Dr. James L. Cherney Major: Communication Degree: Doctor of Philosophy This dissertation explores the theoretical and practical relationship between our understandings of emotion’s role in political decision-making. In this pursuit I seek a resurrection for pathos’s legitimacy in rhetorical studies through the pursuit of the pathetic political realm. This work has three primary concerns: how may pathetic power be accessed, from where does this power originate, and how might political actors enact this power for their own political goals. I draw primarily from theories related to visual rhetoric and the body in order to provide perspective on how the body is politicized through the pathetic realm. As a site for analysis I look to Michelle Obama’s time in the Office of the First Lady. Theoretical perspectives are drawn from a range of scholars including Aristotle, ...

Discourse Analytical Perspectives of Donald Trump’s Linguistic Behaviour

Polonia University Scientific Journal, 2020

Exploring the Use of Covid-19 as a New Pre-Text in Trump’s Political Discourse

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Studies, 2020

With the rise in the spate of deaths in America and the failure of Trump in containing coronavirus pandemic, the president is losing his hopes of winning the coming presidential election. Amidst Trump’s confusion, Covid-19 becomes a pre-text in his political rhetoric in an attempt to blame China for the pandemic, raise tension between U.S. and Beijing, and regain credibility from the public. Accordingly, the research paper aims to explore how Trump’s outrageous language unveils his ideological hegemony and contributes to the spread of xenophobia towards China. A multidisciplinary qualitative analysis was adopted to analyze one of Trump’s blunt political discourse. The analysis was based on Fairclough and Van Dijk’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) model, along with Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) Model. The findings of the study are significant in raising the public’s awareness of the manipulative social function of language in enhancing racism and inequality of po...