A politician who wields a comeback with skill can use it as both a bludgeon and a shield, damaging the opponent without hurting their own popularity with voters.
Tucker Carlson is a big fan of the phrase ‘they hate.’ Usually, he’s talking about Democrats.
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The conservative cable news channel particularly favors the term when explaining opposition to Donald Trump. This framing of the news can lead Fox viewers to see the world as us versus them.
Trump targets white voters with hostile, angry language.
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Dog whistles constitute coded language that only some voters can hear. But Trump does not hide his bigotry when talking about Mexican ‘rapists,’ the ‘China virus’ and ‘law and order.’
Donald Trump in front of Mount Rushmore in Keystone, South Dakota, July 3, 2020.
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Because sarcasm is often difficult to discern and improperly used, it can operate as a linguistic mulligan. But deploy the excuse too much, and you might raise some eyebrows.
President-elect Trump at a post-election rally in Mobile, Alabama, Dec. 17, 2016.
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Donald Trump uses language like a dangerous demagogue. The author of a book on Trump’s rhetorical skill gives a guide to the six most important rhetorical strategies Trump uses.
Donald Trump at a press briefing with members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force on April 18, 2020 in Washington, DC.
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An analysis of the expressions used by Donald Trump to designate Covid-19 sheds light on his political calculations and on the evolution of his relationship with China in recent weeks.
President John F Kennedy Meets with the President of the Republic of Ghana Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah
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Compared to other politicians who tend to be indirect and evasive, Nkrumah was direct, explicit and assertive.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama board Air Force One en route to Oslo, Norway, to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2009.
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
A critic of Obama’s two terms explains how the 44th president’s personality and his politics of ‘least resistance’ prevented him from rising to the moment.
In Kenneth Burke’s ‘The War of Words,’ the late rhetorical theorist picks apart the little ways news articles can subtly influence readers – and harden divisions.
After the Manafort and Cohen news dropped, many wondered how Trump would respond. By the following morning, a messaging strategy seemed to coalesce.
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Aristotle coined the term “enthymeme” to refer to arguments, words and ideas that are broadly accepted among the people of a nation. So what happens when enthymemes start to disappear?
Anti-apartheid cleric Trevor Huddleston, centre, with South African liberation struggle icons Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela in 1991.
EPA/Stringer
‘Paul, Apostle of Christ’ is an enjoyable movie but its sugary message is like a can of soda: easy to swallow but not good for you with ideals that have have been manipulated to project a golden era.
Odysseus and the Cyclops Polyphemus: how not to treat strangers.
Arnold Böcklin, via Wikimedia Commons
President Trump’s first year was a rough one for scientists and others who value truth and expertise. Many rallied to the cause, while others used research to make the case for the value of science.