Digital Demagogue: The Critical Candidacy of Donald J. Trump

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ISSN 2161-539X (online) © 2016 Alabama Communication Association
Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric, Vol. 6, No.3/4, 2016, pp. 62-73.

Digital Demagogue: The Critical Candidacy of Donald J. Trump
Amy E. Mendes

Over the last several months, businessperson Donald Trump has taken the lead in the Republican primary race. His flamboyant personality and unusually aggressive speech has drawn much attention and criticism. Journalists and academics have posited that Trump’s rhetoric is that of a demagogue. This essay catalogues the existing definitions of demagoguery, examines how Trump’s rhetoric may qualify, and outlines some ways in which demagogues may function differently in a digital world.

Keywords: digital demagogue, election, rhetoric, scapegoat, xenophobia

The long road to businessperson Donald Trump’s nomination as the presidential candidate for the Republican party has drawn much attention from rhetorical scholars. His flamboyant personality and unusually aggressive speech have prompted both journalists and academics to label him a demagogue. If this assessment is accurate, Trump may be positioned to become the latest in a category of leaders who have historically left devastating legacies. However, accusations of demagoguery should not be made lightly, as they may be used to silence or discredit marginalized voices.1 Since having a demagogue in the office of President would be disastrous, the question of determining whether his rhetoric fits the description is an important one. Even if Trump’s bid is unsuccessful, his campaign is raising issues and lines of argument that have not previously been associated with presidential campaign rhetoric, or even with polite society. Roberts-Miller has described how argument and ideology can both shape policy and influence individual behavior.2

In the digital age, a demagogue has the capacity to reach more people than ever before, as the
internet serves as both the catalyst and the cauldron in the creation of a movement. This candidate, at this time, may be in a uniquely powerful position to influence political rhetoric in the United States for decades to come.

This essay examines existing definitions of demagoguery, analyzes Trump’s rhetoric,
including some of the circumstances that may have contributed to his rise, and outlines how socio-economic context may be less significant in understanding demagoguery in the digital age than it has been in previous eras.

 Amy E. Mendes (M.A., West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a lecturer in the Communication Department at Dalton State College and a doctoral candidate at the University of Alabama. She can be reached for comment on this article at amendes [at] daltonstate.edu.
1 J. Michael Hogan and David Tell, “Demagoguery and Democratic Deliberation: The Search for Rules of Discursive
Engagement,” Rhetoric & Public Affairs 9, no. 3 (2006): 479-87.
2 Patricia Roberts-Miller, Fanatical Schemes: Proslavery Rhetoric and the Tragedy of Consensus (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2009).

What is a Demagogue?
While the term is fairly commonly used, defining “demagogue” can be difficult. Some descriptions focus on the personality and characteristics of the speaker, while others focus on the particular rhetorical techniques employed. Hogan and Tell caution that “demagogue” is often used as little more than an epithet, rather than a specific descriptor.3 Roberts-Miller points out that frequently “demagogue” is used merely to mean someone whose politics one does not like.4 Gilbert describes demagoguery as inherently immoral, a form of political unscrupulousness.5 Ceaser asserts the importance of a rhetor’s intent in classifying one as a demagogue.6 Although the avowed goals of a demagogue may be neutral or even positive, their real motivation is an increase in influence, power or gain.7 A demagogue works to increase influence, rather than being focused on governing or shaping policy, whereas a statesman is understood to be working for the good of society, or at least their constituents.8 But intent can be extremely difficult to parse, as Ceaser notes: “one man’s statesman, after all, is another man’s demagogue.”9 While determining exactly what a demagogue is may be difficult, descriptions of what they do abound. Logue and Dorgan argue that the word demagogue implies insincerity and opportunism.10

Demagogues make assertions or arguments without regard for truth.11 Ceaser adds that the demagogue relies on appeals to three main emotions: envy, fear and hope. Religion is a powerful tool of the demagogue, since the speaker’s invocation of the divine can inspire all three of those passions.12 They pander to passion, prejudice, bigotry and ignorance rather than appealing to reason.13 Roberts-Miller offers the following definition of demagoguery: “Demagoguery is polarizing propaganda that motivates members of an in-group to hate and scapegoat some outgroup(s), largely by promising certainty, stability, and ‘an escape from freedom.’”14 She goes on to explain that instances of demagogic rhetoric may occur without any one individual emerging as a demagogic leader, simply because this rhetoric is an expression of prejudices and fears that are already latent within the culture.15...