Language in the Trump Era
Scandals and Emergencies

By examining Trump's verbal techniques, this book illuminates how he employs words to power his presidency whilst scandalizing the world.

Janet McIntosh (Edited by), Norma Mendoza-Denton (Edited by)

9781108745031, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 3 September 2020

300 pages
15 x 23 x 2.5 cm, 0.47 kg

'Overall, the book provides fascinating insight into the language of Trump and would be of interest to postgraduate students, scholars/researchers in linguistics, as well as the broader social sciences and/or those who are interested in understanding the discursive features of one of the world's most controversial presidents.' Neda Salashour, Language in Society

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.

Introduction: A Linguistic Emergency Janet McIntosh
Part I. Dividing the American Public: 1. Part I Introduction: 'Ask the Gays': How to Use Language to Fragment and Redefine the Public Sphere Norma Mendoza-Denton
2. The Significance of Trump's Incoherence James Slotta
3. “Get 'Em Out!”: The Meaning of Ejecting Protestors Jack Sidnell
4. Crybabies and Snowflakes Janet McIntosh
Part II. Performance and Falsehood: 5. Part II Introduction: The Show Must Go On: Hyperbole and Falsehood in Trump's Performance Norma Mendoza-Denton
6. Trump's Comedic Gestures as Political Weapon Donna M. Goldstein, Kira Hall, and Matthew Bruce Ingram
7. 45 as a Bullshit Artist: Straining for Charisma Marco Jacquemet
8. Plausible Deniability Adam Hodges
Part III. The Interactive Making of the Trumpian World: 9. Part III Introduction: Collusion: On Playing Along with the President Janet McIntosh
10. Banter, Male Bonding, and the Language of Donald Trump Deborah Cameron
11. On Social Routines and That Access Hollywood Bus Bruce Mannheim
12. 'Cocked and Loaded': Trump and the Gendered Discourse of National Security Carol Cohn
13. Evaluator in Chief Brion van Over
14. Fake Alignments Sylvia Sierra and Natasha Shrikant
Part IV. Language, White Nationalism, and International Responses to Trump: 15. Part IV Introduction: Language and Trump's White Nationalist Strongman Politics Janet McIntosh
16. 'Perfect English' and White Supremacy H. Samy Alim and Geneva Smitherman
17. Making our Nation Fear the Powerless Otto Santa Ana, Marco Antonio Juárez, Magaly Reséndez, John Hernández, Oscar Gaytán, Kimberly Cerón, Celeste Gómez, and Roberto Solís
18. We Latin Americans Know a Messianic Autocrat When We See One Norma Mendoza-Denton
19. Rejoinders from the Shithole Quentin Williams
20. Muslim Enemies, Rich Arab Friends Aomar Boum.

Subject Areas: Politics & government [JP], Anthropology [JHM], Sociolinguistics [CFB]