Fountaindale Public Library

Demagogue for president, the rhetorical genius of Donald Trump, Jennifer R. Mercieca

eng

index present

non fiction

Demagogue for president

1128453682

Jennifer R. Mercieca

the rhetorical genius of Donald Trump

"Political communication expert Jennifer Mercieca shows how the Trump campaign expertly used the common rhetorical techniques of a demagogue, a word with two contradictory definitions-"a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power" or "a leader championing the cause of the common people in ancient times" (Merriam-Webster, 2019). These strategies, in conjunction with post-rhetorical public relations techniques, were meant to appeal to a segment of an already distrustful electorate"--, Provided by publisher

Trump and the Distrusting Electorate -- "I don't, frankly, have time for total political correctness." (Ad Populum) -- "It's going to be like this .... I'm going to continue to attack the press." (Ad Baculum) -- "You could have a Trojan horse situation. You could -- this could be the ultimate Trojan horse." (Reification) -- "Now, the poor guy. You gotta see this guy." (Ad Hominem) -- "I'm not saying that he conspired; I'm just saying that it was all over the place." (Paralipsis) -- "I am 'America First.' So, I like the expression. I'm "America First.'" (American Exceptionalism) -- Trump and the Polarized Electorate -- "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters." (Ad Populum) -- "Low-Energy Jeb!" (Ad Hominem) -- "I didn't tweet; I retweeted somebody that was supposedly an expert. Am I gonna check every statistic? All it was is a retweet. And it wasn't from me." (Paralipsis) -- "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment, people, maybe there is. I don't know." (Ad Baculum)

adult