10.15178/va.2019.146.113-135
RESEARCH
AN APPROACH TO POPULISM IN THE DONALD TRUM FIGURE
Una aproximación al populismo en la figura de Donald Trump
UMA APROXIMAÇÃO AO POPULISMO NA FIGURA DE DONALD TRUMP
Rafael Barberá-González1 Doctor en Periodismo por la Universidad San Pablo-CEU, licenciado en Periodismo por esta Universidad y licenciado en Derecho por la UCM. Profesor en la Facultad de Ciencias de la Información de la UCM y en la Facultad de Comunicación de la UFV.
Félix Martín del Fresno1
1Complutense University of Madrid. Spain.
ABSTRACT
Europe and Latin America have been the scenarios where populism has grown fastest. However, this phenomenon has also been emerging in other places that seemed not to have this tradition and did not have the foundations for it to grow. The emergence of the figure of Donald J. Trump has made many analysts see that populism has permeated the United States. Although this term carries a negative connotation, its investigation has become current, growing and multinational. In this paper, the figure of the president of the United States will be analyzed to see if there are populist approaches in his speeches. And for that, it will be necessary to understand this concept, its different approaches and it will be necessary to know what is the historical reality of populism in this country.
KEY WORDS: populism, United States, Trump, concept, speech, history, elections, president, politics
RESUMEN
Europa y América Latina han sido los escenarios donde el populismo ha crecido con mayor rapidez. Sin embargo, este fenómeno ha ido surgiendo también por otros lugares que parecían no tener esta tradición y tampoco tenían los cimientos para que pudiera crecer. La irrupción de la figura de Donald J. Trump ha hecho que muchos analistas vean que el populismo ha calado en Estados unidos. Aunque este término conlleva una connotación negativa su investigación se ha convertido en actual, creciente y multinacional. En este trabajo se analizará la figura del presidente de Estados Unidos para comprobar si en sus discursos hay enfoques populistas. Y para ello habrá que comprender este concepto, sus diferentes aproximaciones y se deberá conocer cuál es la realidad histórica del populismo en este país.
PALABRAS CLAVE: populismo, Estados Unidos, Trump, concepto, discurso, historia, elecciones, presidente, política
RESUME
Europa e América Latina foram os cenários onde o populismo cresceu com maior rapidez. Porém, este fenômeno foi surgindo também por outros lugares que pareciam não ter esta tradição e tampouco tinham os alicerces para que pudesse crescer. A irrupção da figura de Donald J. Trump fez que muitos analistas vejam que o populismo se há estabelecido em Estados Unidos. Embora este término implica uma conotação negativa, sua investigação se converteu em atual, crescente e multinacional. Neste trabalho se analisara a figura do presidente dos Estados Unidos para comprovar se em seus discursos há enfoques populistas. E para isso haverá que compreender este conceito, suas diferentes aproximações e conhecer qual é a realidade histórica do populismo neste país.
PALAVRAS CHAVE: populismo, Estados Unidos, Trump, conceito, discurso, história, eleições, presidente, política
Received: 08/10/2018
Accepted: 11/01/2019
How to cite the article:
Barberá González, R., y Martín del Fresno, F. (2019). An approach to populism in the Donald Trump figure [Una aproximación al populismo en la figura de Donald Trump]. Vivat Academia. Revista de Comunicación, 146, 113-135. http://doi.org/10.15178/va.2019.146.113-135 Recovered from http://www.vivatacademia.net/index.php/vivat/article/view/1134
1. INTRODUCTION
Populism does not arise instantaneously, that is, there must be a series of elements that signify a populist rupture. At present there are many countries that are still immersed in economic problems as a result of the crisis of recent years, something that has become the key to the settlement of this type of movement. This is joined by the wave of terrorist attacks perpetrated by the self-styled Islamic State and the phenomenon of immigration, which have also caused the rise of actors with characteristics of right-wing populism.
The leader wants to be part of the people or at least move away from the politicians who are in power and, according to Panizza, legitimizes his political person due to his success in business or other private activities that have taken him to the top of society (Panizza, 2009). An example of this could well be Donald Trump.
Its success comes from endowing the people with hope, but, according to Mouffe, “this hope is illusory, based on false premises and unacceptable mechanisms of exclusion, where xenophobia generally plays a central role (...) and its pretension to offer an alternative is seductive” (Mouffe, 2009).
2. OBJECTIVES
The main objective of this paper is to know if Donald Trump articulated his speech based on populism in order to reach the electorate and capture its vote.
It is also intended to know which techniques were used and if they are related to populism.
3. METHODOLOGY
The basis of the methodological design of this work is the content analysis of Donald J. Trump’s speech.
An analysis of content that is objective and systematic. The aim is to prevent any subjective intervention and, in addition, implies that the selected content must make explicit the rules in the coding process applied (Ortega and Galhardi, 2013).
The speeches analyzed are the one pronounced on July 21, 2016, moment that accepts the nomination as a Republican candidate to the White House, and the one pronounced on January 20, 2017, the day he was sworn in as the forty-fifth president of the United States.
As a system for coding discourses, Van Dijk (1996) is taken into account and thus the following are analyzed:
1. Gender
2. Way of talking
3. The use of words
4. Syntactic modifications
5. Tone
4. DISCUSSION
4.1. Concept of populism
4.1.1. Approach to the concept
Populism has been studied by numerous authors in order to establish a clear and precise definition. Although there is no academic consensus regarding its meaning, it does exist from an analytical perspective.
Ernesto Laclau maintains -initially- that the term can be a movement, an ideology or a practice (Laclau, 2009). In the first two meanings, calling them populists would involve differentiating populism with ideologies or movements such as ‘fascism’, ‘liberalism’, etc. If it is considered as a political practice, the political activities of the subjects should be analyzed as the maximum expression of their internal nature. Another alternative would be that these practices do not show the nature of the subjects, but that they constitute it. If this statement is correct, he considers that “we could say that a movement is not populist because in its politics or ideology it presents real contents identifiable as populist, but because it shows a certain logic of articulation of those contents”.
For his part, Panizza, already mentioned, highlights some situations of emergence of populism, coincidentally coinciding with periods of social, political, cultural and economic upheaval, and in addition to this the forms of identification are not established. Among them is the reality that, faced with a social disorder and the loss of confidence in the powers of political institutions to restore it, a candidate must appear as someone independent of the establishment to be elected. This is what the leader analyzed in this case, Donald Trump, did.
4.1.2. Other meanings about populism
It is important to bear in mind when talking about ‘populism’ the distinction made by Panizza (2009) on three approaches or approaches to the term, which within them have their variations. The first is what he calls com ‘empirical generalizations’, which consists in analyzing supposed cases of populism in order to obtain defining features that could offer a series of attributes to define the term.
The second approach, called ‘historicist explanations’, aims to relate populism to a historical period, social formation or set of specific historical circumstances.
The third is what is considered the ‘non-essentialist approach’. It is a mixture of the previous two; however, this understands populism as an anti-status quo discourse that reduces political space through the symbolic separation of society between the ‘people’ (like those of ‘below’) and their ‘other’ (‘the elite’).
Edward Shils points out; on the other hand, that populism implies the supposition of two essential principles: the predominance of the will of the people and the interrelation between the people and the government (Shils, 1956). In other words, “populism has been used to describe any movement that invokes the name of the people” (Worsley, 1969). However, this statement is not so rigorous because, in modern politics, every speech appeals to the people or says to speak on their behalf, which would make it impossible to find out which message is populist and which is not.
4.2. Populism in the US and the profile of Donald J. Trump
4.2.1. Origins of American populism
According to Panizza, the term ‘populist’ was used for the first time in the United States in the 1890s by the People’s Party. In the second half of the nineteenth century, in the United States there was a great population growth, it went from 31 million inhabitants in 1860 to 75 million in 1900 (Jurado, 2010). The economy of the country subsisted predominantly from the agricultural sector and, therefore, a rural population predominated, which by the end of the century, would move to large cities causing a series of economic and social implications.
In this era, the image that the farmer had was that of the great enterpriser and autonomous American. The populists idealized the farmer to the point of considering them the driving force of the country’s economic activity and the functioning of democracy; they were the majority of the population, for that reason they considered them as the bastions of the democratic government, according to Jurado. They also found enemies who considered them guilty of their problems.
Various popular associations arose as a result of the agricultural social discontent, such as the Grange, the Greenback Party, the Farmer’s Alliances and the Knights of Labor, but they did not have great success. E s more, led to further consolidation of the American two - party system (Jurado, 2010). These organizations culminated with the creation in 1892 of the Party of the People, led by James B. Weaver, who was presented as a candidate to the Presidency. The populists included in their demands the state intervention of the economy, the reduction of the working day, reduce corruption in large organizations, reforms in the electoral system, restriction of immigration, etc. The Democrats benefited from some of their ideas.
One of the main scholars of American populism is Michael Kazin, fundamentally from the Second World War, when there is a displacement of the populist discourse led by the Democrats of the New Deal to the conservatism of the American right, from the 1960s, led by the Governor of Alabama, George Wallace. Lowndes (2009) conducts a study on the impact of the discourse carried out by Wallace on US politics, which is characterized by a racial and anti-statist aspect.
Wallace was appointed Governor of Alabama in 1962 with his promise to abolish federal orders regarding segregation at the University of Alabama. The s policies and speeches were always with a view to national level, since later launched his career to the presidency, something he could never achieve.
With the passage of time, around 1964, Wallace moderated his oratory. Anti-communism began to appear in his speeches, accused the federal government of approaching Marxist and Leninist social and economic policies, thus getting traditional conservatives and ultra-right-wingers to begin to sympathize with him, according to Lowndes.
In his last bid for the presidency in 1976, Wallace opted for the slogan “trust the people”. He began to appear on stages with African-Americans, thus eliminating any racist signs of his image. The enemies would remain those privileged and multimillionaires who did not respond to American society by evading taxes. Lowndes states that “Wallace’s rise and fall show that populist movements are ultimately unsustainable in a liberal democracy”.
4.2.2. United States and Donald J. Trump
2016 was the year of elections in the United States. Barack Obama reached the end of his presidency after eight years in office. In 2015, the US economy closed the year with an increase of 292,000 new jobs in December, a solid performance that rose to 2.65 million people during the year, bringing the unemployment rate to 5%. lowest level since the crisis began (Pozzi, 2016). In this way, Obama saw off the year with good economic figures, but in the new year they would stagnate (Ruiz de Gauna, 2016). The financial recovery from the global crisis of 2008 was slower than expected. All these new data were announced a month before the presidential elections took place, which motivated a discontent of the population with Obama’s mandate and might have consequences for the Democratic candidate for the presidency.
2016 was also the year in which the arms debate was opened again, due to attacks on police (Faus, 2016), the death of African-Americans or the threat of jihadist attacks.
In this economic, political and social context, the United States was facing new elections that would mark its policies during the next four years. In the process of primary for the Republican Party, eleven candidates with possibilities to reach the presidency were presented: Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, John Kasich, Paul Rand, Carly Fiorina, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee. For the Democratic Party, there would be three candidates for the White House: Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley.
Born on June 14, 1946, Donald John Trump was the son of a middle-upper class family, whose mother was a Scottish immigrant and whose father was American and the son of German immigrants (Royo and Ureña, 2015). He studied at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating in 1968, he began working with his father in the family business Elizabeth Trump & Son, in the real estate sector. In the beginning, they were dedicated to selling homes to middle class families, but in 1974, when he took over, he moved the business to Manhattan where he was the beginning of his great business empire. Today, he is president of The Trump Organization, accumulating a fortune that is close to 9,000 million dollars.
In the decade of the 90, Trump had to face a great crisis since it could not pay his enormous debts. For a while, he had to mortgage some of his assets and declare bankruptcy a casino, but through his negotiation skills, he managed to overcome the crisis and further extend his prestige.
The 2016 elections were not his first contact in politics. At the beginning of the new millennium he made his first attempt at the presidency as a candidate of the Reform Party, managing to capture the attention of all the media, but in the end he did not reach enough support and withdrew his candidacy. On June 16, 2015, he officially announced his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States.
In these presidential elections, the media played a very determining role, especially with the media coverage that Trump received. From the beginning of the campaign, practically all the media showed him his rejection.
4.3. Donald J. Trump’s speech
4.3.1. Donald J. Trump speech in campaign
The resources chosen for this work are the day he accepts to represent the Republican Party in the race to the White House, on the one hand, and the one pronounced on the day of his oath as president of the United States, on the other.
The first is very marked by the problems that attributed the country (immigration, terrorism, police violence, etc.), the incompetence of his rival Hillary Clinton, their proposals and their experiences during the campaign.
The abundance of the first person of the plural is observed (we begin, we are, we would go, we will take, we will lead, we will be) and of our possessiveness (‘our communities’, ‘our streets’, ‘our country’, ‘our police’, ‘our roads’, etc.) to refer to both the problems he and the American citizens suffer and the future policies he will undertake as president.
From the beginning, Trump wants to involve the American people in his plan through a semantic field of words that involve the action or coordination of more than one person (‘our plan’, ‘let’s make sure’, ‘we need’, ‘we will bring ‘,’ we are going to ‘, etc.): “(...) I say because we are a team”. In this way, the ‘we’ encompasses all the people to whom it is addressed and who collect and share the ideas of the candidate.
On the other hand, the third person is used to talk about those whom he wants to criticize or discredit, of whom he does not feel represented (‘they have aligned’, ‘they can hit’, ‘they have failed’, ‘they propose’, ‘they have rigged’, ‘they overwhelmed ‘, ‘they wants to fire’), which in populist terms is known as ‘enemy’.
Draws attention in the use of the first person of the singular to talk about proposals of the economic field. Trump is the expert of the business world and only he knows how to improve the financial activity of the country. “I’ve won billions of dollars in trade agreements, now I’m going to make our country rich again”. He also uses the first person to tell personal experiences that he has lived during the campaign (‘I get up’, ‘I have visited’, ‘I have embraced’, ‘I have seen’, etc.) or to discuss proposals that seem to be undertaken by him same (‘believe me’, ‘I will restore’, ‘I will appoint’, ‘I will work’, ‘I will bring’).
Also, in terms of the use of words, Trump uses many adjectives to emphasize or decorate the arguments he is making. On the one hand, it uses terms of negative connotation to discredit Hillary Clinton’s policies (‘outrageous’, ‘crime’, ‘illegally’, ‘failed’, ‘destruction’, ‘death’, ‘legacy’), to speak of actions or agreements that have been disastrous for the country (‘humiliation’, ‘kneeling’, ‘horrible’, ‘crushed’, ‘failed’, ‘exhausted’, ‘worse’ ) and for the media (‘lies’ ). In relation to the latter, Trump exposes in the speech some facts of the country since according to him the media manipulates the information and attributes the power of the truth: “I will present the facts in a simple and honest way”, “but here, in our convention, there will be no lies”, “I will tell you the simple facts, the ones that do not appear in the news (...)”. On the contrary, it uses a positive connotation to talk about their personal experiences (‘brave’, ‘love’, ‘innocent’, ‘stupendous’, ‘beautiful’), their private life (‘fortune ‘, ‘wonderful’, ‘pride’, ‘joy’, ‘honest’, ‘charitable’) or their proposals (‘rich’, ‘together’, ‘creation’, ‘produce’, ‘prestige’). All this amalgam of words creates real images in each of the citizens that arouse a strong emotion, for example, when he says “we all remember the images of our Marines forced to kneel at gunpoint by Iranian kidnappers”.
It also highlights the pronunciation on several occasions of the adverb ‘quickly’ when it talks about policies that urge a special fulfillment: “we will beat the barbarians of ISIS, and we will do it quickly”, “we will win and we will do it quickly”, “it will happen and it will happen quickly”. It also happens the same with ‘never again’, Trump repeats it in several moments when he talks about actions that have been undertaken by the Obama Administration or other events that have happened in the country. The word ‘legal’ appears in constant occasions, especially when it speaks of the security problems that occur in the United States.
He moves away from a cultured or technical language in order not to seem distant to the people (‘politicking’, ‘she is their puppet and they pull the strings’), and in his discourse he is helped by the strong American sentiment (“Americanism, not globalism, it will be our creed”), thus reinforcing the motto of its campaign Make America Great Again.
A remarkable aspect in the syntactic field is the unusual change that occurs with the alteration of the plural placing first the feminine form: “(...) that the time that I have spent with mothers and fathers who have lost their children (...)”.
As for the tone, it uses a generally normal intonation, with a paused rhythm in order that everything it pronounces is understood and thus show him to be sure of it. It also highlights an increase in intonation when you want to highlight the message you are saying, and as you finish your speech, your cadence is slower giving rise to the applause of the public.
The second speech chosen, that of the swearing in as President, begins with a thanks to the main authorities present and to the world and American people their presence. In the beginning it sends a hopeful message and a criticism to everything that has preceded: “we are united in a great national initiative to rebuild our country (...)”, “we will face new challenges. We will face difficulties, but we will do the job “. In this way, we observe the dynamics that have led during all his speeches in starting from a destroyed United States and include and involve the people in future actions that reconstruct the country through the use of the first person plural (‘we will define’, ‘together’, ‘we will confront’, ‘we will unite’ ,’we will reinforce’, etc.) and the possessive ‘our’ (‘our country’, ‘our border’, ‘our government’, ‘our dreams’, ‘our successes’, ‘our lifestyle’, etc.). He also highlights the use of the word ‘power’ on several occasions, but in this case is not to speak of those who held it but to claim that now belongs to the people: “(...) We are transferring the power of Washington and we are giving back to you, the people”. Also it refers to those who were his enemy, in examples like “a small group of the capital” or “elite” who are benefiting at the expense of the American people. In this way, Trump makes a contrast between him and the political elite using a combination of possessive ‘their’ and ‘your’, being the first to talk about those things that politicians did not share with American citizens: “their victories have not been your victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs”. There is a reinforcement in the idea that it is not a party that has achieved power but the people when it affirms that it is “the people” who control the government.
Throughout the speech, he maintains that hopeful message full of strong feeling and patriotism: “we must think big and dream bigger”, “no challenge can match the heart, the struggle and the spirit that the United States has”, “together we will make the United States strong again”. This hope is characterized by abstract terms such as ‘dreams’, ‘liberties’, ‘the American flag’ (as a patriotic symbol), ‘loyalty’. A certain degree of paternalism and religiosity predominates, since Trump assures on several occasions the protection of the American people through the army and God: “we will be protected by great men and women of our army and the forces of order, but the most important thing is that God will protect us”.
He describes the problems of the United States using negative terms, especially when talking about insecurity in the streets (‘crime’, ‘gangs’, ‘drugs’, ‘stolen’, ‘massacre’). He reserves the positive terms to speak of the American people (‘honest people’, ‘triumph’, ‘celebration’).
Regarding the tone, he maintains the paused cadence that has been observed in the previous speech, but, in this case, the intonation is smaller, probably due to the type of act and the type of audience it is addressed to.
4.4. Interpretation of Donald J. Trump’s speeches
It is generally observed in his speeches that he tries to draw attention to explain a problem and then expose his proposal to solve it, the classic problem-solution symbiosis.
In the United States, a series of events were taking place that could lead to the emergence of a movement with populist airs. There was a plurality of demands on the population that the Obama Administration was unable to absorb and Donald J. Trump knew how to adequately read those needs and to be the leader and motivator of that part of the town that felt ignored. Through the use in the speeches of the first person of the plural and of the possessives (our/s, your, their, etc.) an identity and a social cohesion that forms a popular subject is produced, that with the critics to the elite and the glorification of the people discovers the elementary criteria of belonging to the group unified in a ‘we’ in front of the enemy grouped in a ‘they’. Thus, it is also observed that he comes to affirm “people who work hard but no longer have a voice. I am your voice” or “I am with you, with the American people. I am his voice”.
He starts from a United States that believes that it has been destroyed, both economically and politically, that it has lost its patriotism and, therefore, the respect it enjoyed internationally. According to Panizza (2009), these are the perfect situations for the candidate to show independence from the establishment. In his speech, Trump states: “I have come down to the political arena so that the powerful can no longer hit people who cannot defend themselves. Nobody knows the system better than me, that’s why I’m the only one who can fix it”. In another moment he comes to pronounce” (...) we must free ourselves from the politicking of the past”.
Also, the formation of an enemy is observed through the use of the third person of the singular and the plural and of expressions like ‘a small group of the capital’, ‘opponent’ or ‘elites’. Trump includes them all in the same group and interrelates them in such a way that there is only one enemy, his rival Hillary Clinton: “The big companies, the elite media and the biggest donors have aligned themselves behind the campaign of n my opponent because he knows she will keep this rigged system”.
For him, the United States has ceased to be a world power and comes to pronounce that they cannot longer win over China, Japan, Russia and even Mexico. For this reason, Trump emphasizes in several moments that the United States will be again world leader: “we no longer win, but we will win again!”
Likewise, another of the populist elements seen in Donald Trump’s speech is a feeling of empathy towards those families who have suffered the consequences of a murder or who are in a situation of poverty, in order to make the people feel identify and share their proposals and, in turn, to criticize the ruling elite.
The use of numerous adjectives, both positive and negative, abounds to emphasize his arguments and give a certain emotional charge. Abstract expressions and terms are also observed with little relation to the factual program, simply to form a mirage in the future of the population charged with doses of patriotism and sentimentality: “I will fight for you with every breath of my body and I will never fail you”; “Americans will be back in first place”; “I have no patience for injustice”; “We will have our dreams again”.
The Republican candidate, characterized by good communication skills, was the ideal leader the American people needed, someone to tell it what it needed to hear. The American citizens saw in him the successful businessman who knew how to take the family business to the peak of business and become one of the richest people in the world. He was a showman capable of saying what he thinks, outside of the politically correct. In fact, in the first speech analyzed, he affirms “I will present the facts in a simple and honest way. We can no longer afford to be so politically correct”. This is the style of Trump in his speeches, which depending on the context in which it unfolds, employs a less formal and more indiscreet speech, as in the first speech analyzed than in the second, which is observed to be more demure and formal.
5. CONCLUSIONS
The objective proposed in this paper was to know if Donald Trump designed his speech based on populism in order to reach the electorate and capture his vote. This fact is fulfilled given that characteristic features of populism are found in his speeches.
Trump, in addition to orchestrating a campaign preaching that the United States in the first place, transfers the triumph of the elections to the people and ensures that the power of the country is now held by the citizens.
Trump and his party try to blame the country’s problems not only the national elites, but also the media and illegal immigration, that is, everything that is alien to the American people.
Bets on a conservative political program characterized by a protectionism to the American product and employment.
In the figure of Donald J. Trump, there is a right-wing populism, characteristic of Central-European countries, in which certain xenophobic temptations prevail and the leader feels part of the people and they feel identified in him, since it is a legitimized person who has the power of truth because of his success in his private life.
6. ANNEXES
6.1. Trump speech: accepts the nomination as the Republican candidate. On July 21, 2016
“Who would’ve believed that when we started this journey on June 16th last year, we, and I say we, because we are a team, would have received almost 14 million votes, the most in the history of the Republican Party and that the Republican Party would get 60 percent more votes than it received eight years ago, who would’ve believed this, who would’ve believed this?
The Democrats, on the other hand, received 20 percent fewer votes than they got four years ago, not so good, not so good.
Together, we will lead our party back to the White House, and we will lead our country back to safety, prosperity, and peace. We will be a country of generosity and warmth. But we will also be a country of law and order.
Our convention occurs at a moment of crisis for our nation. The attacks on our police, and the terrorism of our cities, threaten our very way of life. Any politician who does not grasp this danger is not fit to lead our country.
Americans watching this address tonight have seen the recent images of violence in our streets and the chaos in our communities. Many have witnessed this violence personally, some have even been its victims.
I have a message for all of you: The crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon and I mean very soon. The fundamental task of the Government is to defend the lives of its own citizens. Any government that fails in this is a government unworthy of taking command.
It is finally time for a straightforward assessment of the state of our nation. I will present the facts plainly and honestly. We cannot afford to be so politically correct anymore.
So if you want to hear the corporate spin, the carefully-crafted lies, and the media myths, the Democrats are holding their convention next week, go there. But here, at our convention, there will be no lies. We will honor the American people with the truth, and nothing else.
These are the facts:
Decades of progress made in bringing down crime are now being reversed by this Administration’s rollback of criminal enforcement.
Homicides last year increased by 17 percent in America’s fifty largest cities. That’s the largest increase in 25 years.
In our nation’s capital, killings have risen by 50 percent. They are up nearly 60 percent in nearby Baltimore.
In the President’s hometown of Chicago more than 2,000 people have been the victims of shootings this year alone. And almost 4,000 have been killed in the Chicago area since he took office.
The number of police officers killed in the line of duty has risen by almost 50 percent compared to this point last year.
Nearly 180,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records, ordered deported from our country, are tonight roaming free to threaten peaceful citizens.
The number of new illegal immigrant families who have crossed the border so far this year already exceeds the entire total from 2015. They are being released by the tens of thousands into our communities with no regard for the impact on public safety or resources.
One such border-crosser was released and made his way to Nebraska. There, he ended the life of an innocent young girl named Sarah Root. She was 21 years-old, and was killed the day after graduating from college with a 4.0 Grade Point Average, number one in her class.
Her killer was then released a second time, and he is now a fugitive from the law. I’ve met Sarah’s beautiful family. But to this Administration, their amazing daughter was just one more American life that wasn’t worth protecting. One more child to sacrifice on the altar of open borders.
What about our economy? Again, I will tell you the plain facts that have been edited out of your nightly news and your morning newspaper:
Nearly four in 10 African-American children are living in poverty, while 58 percent of African-American youth are not employed. Two million more Latinos are in poverty today than when the President Obama took his oath of office less than eight years ago.
Another 14 million people have left the workforce entirely. Household incomes are down more than $4,000 since the year 2000, that’s 16 years ago. Our trade deficit in goods reached nearly, think of this, our trade deficit is $800 billion, think of that, $800 billion last year alone. We’re gonna fix that.
The budget is no better. President Obama has almost doubled our national debt to more than $19 trillion, and growing. And yet, what do we have to show for it? Our roads and bridges are falling apart, our airports are Third World condition, and forty-three million Americans are on food stamps.
Now let us consider the state of affairs abroad:
Not only have our citizens endured domestic disaster, but they have lived through one international humiliation after another. One after another. We all remember the images of our sailors being forced to their knees by their Iranian captors at gunpoint.
America is far less safe – and the world is far less stable – than when Obama made the decision to put Hillary Clinton in charge of America’s foreign policy. Let’s defeat her in November. I am certain it is a decision he truly regrets. Her bad instincts and her bad judgment – something pointed out by Bernie Sanders – are what caused so many of the disasters unfolding today.
Let’s review the record:
In 2009, pre-Hillary, ISIS was not even on the map. Libya was stable. Egypt was peaceful. Iraq was seeing a reduction in violence. Iran was being choked by sanctions. Syria was under control.
After four years of Hillary Clinton, what do we have? ISIS has spread across the region, and the entire world. Libya is in ruins, and our Ambassador and his staff were left helpless to die at the hands of savage killers.
Egypt was turned over to the radical Muslim brotherhood, forcing the military to retake control. Iraq is in chaos. Iran is on the path to nuclear weapons. Syria is engulfed in a civil war and a refugee crisis now threatens the West.
After fifteen years of wars in the Middle East, after trillions of dollars spent and thousands of lives lost, the situation is worse than it has ever been before. This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism and weakness. But Hillary Clinton’s legacy does not have to be America’s legacy. (…)
The most important difference between our plan and that of our opponent, is that our plan will put America first. Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo. (…)
All this will change in 2017. The American people will come first once again.
My plan will begin with safety at home – which means safe neighborhoods, secure borders, and protection from terrorism. There can be no prosperity without law and order.
On the economy, I will outline reforms to add millions of new jobs and trillions in new wealth that can be used to rebuild America. A number of these reforms that I will outline tonight will be opposed by some of our nation’s most powerful special interests. That is because these interests have rigged our political and economic system for their exclusive benefit. Believe me it’s for their benefit. (…)
My message is that things have to change – and they have to change right now. Every day I wake up determined to deliver a better life for the people all across this nation that have been neglected, ignored, and abandoned. I have visited the laid-off factory workers, and the communities crushed by our horrible and unfair trade deals. These are the forgotten men and women of our country and they are forgotten but they’re not going to be forgotten long. These are people who work hard but no longer have a voice. I am your voice.
I have embraced crying mothers who have lost their children because our politicians put their personal agendas before the national good.
I have no patience for injustice, no tolerance for government incompetence, no sympathy for leaders who fail their citizens. (…)
I have joined the political arena so that the powerful can no longer beat up on people that cannot defend themselves. Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it.
I have seen firsthand how the system is rigged against our citizens, just like it was rigged against Bernie Sanders – he never had a chance. But his supporters will join our movement, because we will fix his biggest issue: trade. (…)
I have a message for everyone who threatens peace in our streets and the security of our police: when the office swears next year, I will restore law and order in our country. Believe me, I will. (...)
When I am President, I will work to ensure that all of our kids are treated equally, and protected equally. Every action I take, I will ask myself: does this make life better for young Americans in Baltimore, in Chicago, in Detroit, in Ferguson who have really in every way folks, the same right to live out their dreams as any other child America?
To make life safe for all of our citizens, we must also address the growing threats we face from outside the country. We are going to defeat the barbarians of ISIS and we are going to defeat them fast.
I only want to admit individuals into our country who will support our values and love our people. Anyone who endorses violence, hatred or oppression is not welcome in our country and never will be. (…)
Decades of record immigration have produced lower wages and higher unemployment for our citizens, especially for African-American and Latino workers. We are going to have an immigration system that works, but one that works for the American people. (…)
We are going to build a great border wall to stop illegal immigration, to stop the gangs and the violence, and to stop the drugs from pouring into our communities.
I have been honored to receive the endorsement of America’s Border Patrol Agents, and will work directly with them to protect the integrity of our lawful, lawful immigration System. (…)
We are going to be considerate and compassionate to everyone. But my greatest compassion will be for our own struggling citizens. ¡USA! ¡USA! ¡USA! (…)
I have a different vision for our workers. It begins with a new, fair trade policy that protects our jobs and stands up to countries that cheat of which there are many. It’s been a signature message of my campaign from day one, and it will be a signature feature of my presidency from the moment I take the oath of office. I have made billions of dollars in business making deals – now I’m going to make our country rich again using the greatest business people in the world, which our country has. I am going to turn our bad trade agreements into great ones.
America has lost nearly-one third of its manufacturing jobs since 1997, following the enactment of disastrous trade deals supported by Bill and Hillary Clinton. (…)
Next comes the reform of our tax laws, regulations and energy rules. While Hillary Clinton plans a massive tax increase, I have proposed the largest tax reduction of any candidate who has declared for the presidential race this year – Democrat or Republican. (…)
With these new economic policies, trillions and trillions of dollars will start flowing into our country. This new wealth will improve the quality of life for all Americans. We will build the roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, and the railways of tomorrow. This in turn will create millions of more jobs. We will rescue kids from failing schools by helping their parents send them to a safe school of their choice. (…)
I have had a truly great life in business, but now my sole and exclusive mission is to go to work for our country, to go to work for you. It’s time to deliver a victory for the American people. We don’t win anymore, but we are going to start winning again.
But to do that, we must break free from the petty politics of the past. America is a nation of believers, dreamers and strivers that is being led by a group of censors, critics and cynics. (…)
We will make America strong again.
We will make America proud again.
We will make America safe again.
And we will make America great again.
God bless you and goodnight! I love you!”
Trump speech: accept the position as president of the United States. On January 20, 2017
“Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans, and people of the world: thank you.
We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people. Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for years to come. We will face challenges. We will confront hardships. But we will get the job done.
Every four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent.
Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning. Because today we are not merely transferring power from one Administration to another, or from one party to another – but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the American People.
For too long, a small group in our nation’s Capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished – but the people did not share in its wealth.
Politicians prospered – but the jobs left, and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories; their triumphs have not been your triumphs; and while they celebrated in our nation’s Capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.
That all changes – starting right here, and right now, because this moment is your moment: it belongs to you. It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America. This is your day. This is your celebration. And this, the United States of America, is your country.
What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people. January 20th 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again. (…)
The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans. For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry; Subsidized the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military.
We’ve defended other nation’s borders while refusing to defend our own. And spent trillions of dollars overseas while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay. We’ve made other countries rich while the wealth, strength, and confidence of our country has disappeared over the horizon.
One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions upon millions of American workers left behind. The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed across the entire world. But that is the past. And now we are looking only to the future.
We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this moment on, it’s going to be America first.
Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. (…)
I will fight for you with every breath in my body – and I will never, ever let you down. America will start winning again, winning like never before We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to follow. We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones – and unite the civilized world against Radical Islamic Terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth.
At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. The Bible tells us, “how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity”.
We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable. There should be no fear – we are protected, and we will always be protected. We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement and, most importantly, we are protected by God.
Finally, we must think big and dream even bigger. In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long as it is striving.
We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action – constantly complaining but never doing anything about it. The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action. Do not let anyone tell you it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again.
We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the Earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow. A new national pride will stir our souls, lift our sights, and heal our divisions. It is time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget: that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots, (…)
So to all Americans, in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, and from ocean to ocean, hear these words:
You will never be ignored again.
Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams, will define our American destiny.
And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way.
Together, We will make America strong again.
We will make America wealthy wgain.
We will make America proud again.
We will make America safe again.
And, yes, together, we will make America great again. Thank you, god bless you, and god bless America.
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AUTHORS
Rafael Barberá González: PhD in Journalism from the University of San Pablo-CEU, with a degree in Journalism from this University and a Law Degree from the UCM. Professor in the Faculty of Information Sciences of the UCM and in the Faculty of Communication of the UFV, where he directs the University Master in Production and Realization in Radio and Television. His research focuses on political communication and crisis communication. He has published several scientific articles on these subjects.
rbarbera@ucm.es
Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7471-3992
Félix Martín del Fresno
Graduated in Journalism from the Rey Juan Carlos University and Master in Communication of Organizations from the Complutense University of Madrid.
felixmartindf@gmail.com