Language in the Trump Era

by Janet McIntosh (Editor)

Early in his campaign, Donald Trump boasted that 'I know words. I have the best words', yet despite these assurances his speech style has sown conflict even as it has powered his meteoric rise. If the Trump era feels like a political crisis to many, it is also a linguistic one. Trump has repeatedly alarmed people around the world, while exciting his fan-base with his unprecedented rhetorical style, shock-tweeting, and weaponized words. Using many detailed examples, this fascinating and highly topical book reveals how Trump's rallying cries, boasts, accusations, and mockery enlist many of his supporters into his alternate reality. From Trump's relationship to the truth, to his use of gesture, to the anti-immigrant tenor of his language, it illuminates the less obvious mechanisms by which language in the Trump era has widened divisions along lines of class, gender, race, international relations, and even the sense of truth itself.

Genres: Nonfiction

322 pages, Paperback

Published September 3, 2020

Reviews

[Trinity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review Soon

[Mirra Price]

A must read for anyone who wants to understand the relationship between Trump's language and his political accomplishments.

It is a detailed linguistic analysis that some will find challenging. For myself, it found it fascinating as it threw light on how Trump is able to manipulate his base and win elections.

[Claire Abs]

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