Description
Book SynopsisAnalyses the nationalist and populist themes that dominate the rhetoric of President Trump and links those themes to a persona that has evolved from celebrity outsider to presidential strongman. This is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand how Trump's rhetoric undermines basic principles at the heart of American democracy.
Trade ReviewThe author provides a refreshingly clear-eyed, deeply-informed, and rigorously argued examination of the phenomenon that is Donald Trump. Rowland is especially helpful in exploring the relationship between the particulars of Trump's language practices and their more general implications for populism, democracy, and the American presidency. This is a work of singular achievement." - Stephen Howard Browne, professor of communication arts and sciences, Pennsylvania State University, and author of
The First Inauguration: George Washington and the Invention of the Republic"Of some eighty studies of Trump's rhetoric that have appeared between 2015 and 2020, Robert Rowland's book
The Rhetoric of Donald Trump: Nationalist Populism and American Democracy is the best. Rowland develops a theoretical framework that explains Trump's rhetoric and why it is effective. In so doing, he extends rhetorical theories of both affect and genre. As he notes, treating Trump's rhetoric as an expression of an affective genre is not only important for explaining Trump's success but also for illuminating the rise of nationalist populism in Europe and for suggesting important ways of extending genre criticism beyond a narrow situational approach. That Rowland is one of the leading theorists of genre studies gives his theoretical argument added power." - David A. Frank, professor of rhetoric, Clark Honors College, University of Oregon
"
The Rhetoric of Donald Trump takes the reader on an in-depth analysis of Trump's communication-from his campaign oratory to his presidential speeches and from his tweets to his COVID-19 briefings. Throughout this excellent book, Robert C. Rowland incisively demonstrates how Trump's unforgiving nationalism, populist attacks on elites, and violation of rhetorical norms, in tandem with the persona of a celebrity outsider that has evolved into that of an authoritarian leader, have forged a bond of identity with his followers that persists. Rowland also points to the grave dangers that Trump's rhetoric pose to American democracy." - Denise M. Bostdorff, author of
The Presidency and the Rhetoric of Foreign Crisis and
Proclaiming the Truman Doctrine: The Cold War Call to Arms"In this important and carefully researched volume, Professor Robert C. Rowland examines and critiques Donald Trump's strategic exploitation of some of the darkest and most divisive elements of American populist and anti-immigrant sentiments. Rowland provides a strong warning of the dangers posed to the vitality of our democracy and our most important institutions by this rhetoric. Trump and Trumpism have sadly captured the hearts and minds of the Republican Party and its most devoted followers, and this book explains why this style of discourse may persist for years to come." - Thomas A. Hollihan, professor, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California, and author of
Uncivil Wars: Political Campaigns in a Media Age
