A Thematic Review of Trump’s Political Rhetoric, and its Relationship with Violence in America

Abstract: This paper provides a socio-cultural analysis context for those interested on the intersections of self-presentations, justifications, anxieties and mitigations political rhetoric and crime offered in their testimonies by American individuals who have committed crimes and explicitly stated that their actions were motivated by the of rhetoric of Donald J. Trump’s pollical rhetoric. Whilst adopting ideas from Braun & Clarke (2012), this paper does not claim to carry out a systematic analysis, but a critical review that lays out themes emergent from two kinds of sampled texts namely, documentaries and court cases. Twelve criminal cases were identified as meeting our selection criteria, covering crimes ranging from verbal to physical attacks. The aim is to provide a socio-cultural context in which to understand the impact of political rhetoric on the actions of individuals which may have resulted in criminal behaviours. The paper argues that through his political rhetoric, President Donald J. Trump, advocates extremist views; promoting and inciting different forms of violence in general and against specific social groups; and individuals. This study concludes that the political rhetoric of President Donald J. Trump is most likely a factor in the radicalisation of individuals who commit different types of violent crime.

Author(s): Melissa Evans, Mvikeli Ncube

Date Published: January 04, 2022

Depositing User: Jawad Ali

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/4sqt3

Keywords: Violence, Rhetoric, Themes, Critical review, Radicalisation, Crime

Pages: 1-15

Place of publication: Virginia

Publication title: OSFPRIPRINTS

Published URL: https://osf.io/preprints/osf/4sqt3_v1

Publisher: Center for Open Science

Subject(s): Psychology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, School Psychology

Type of publication: Research Article