Trump and Us: What He Says and Why People Listen (Communication, Society and Politics)

Why did 62 million Americans vote for Donald Trump? Trump and Us offers a fresh perspective on this question, taking seriously the depth and breadth of Trump's support. An expert in political language, Roderick P. Hart turns to Trump's words, voters' remarks, and media commentary for insight. The book offers the first systematic rhetorical analysis of Trump's 2016 campaign and early presidency, using text analysis and archives of earlier presidential campaigns to uncover deep emotional undercurrents in the country and provide historical comparison. Trump and Us pays close attention to the emotional dimensions of politics, above and beyond cognition and ideology. Hart argues it was not partisanship, policy, or economic factors that landed Trump in the Oval Office but rather how Trump made people feel. "This book is my answer to Trump-the-question. Because Mr. Trump stirs up so much controversy, I knew that only hard evidence could keep me from being tossed about in his wake. So I have assembled a great quantity of data here, looking exhaustively at Trump's speeches, his press conferences, his debates, and his incessant tweets. But these data mean little by themselves. It is only when one compares them to what the press has written that one begins to get the full measure of the man, a project also advanced by looking at what everyday citizens have said when writing letters to the editors or when responding to nationwide surveys. Donald Trump, I came to believe, can only be understood by triangulation."-- Provided by publisher Trump Won The Presidency Not Because Of Partisanship, Policy, Or Economic Factors But Because Of How He Makes People Feel.