President Donald J. Trump’s Enemy Image Construction in the 2019-2020 Persian Gulf Crisis
President Donald J. Trump’s Enemy Image Construction in the 2019-2020 Persian Gulf Crisis
Author(s): Marta KobylskaSubject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Language studies, Communication studies
Published by: Polskie Towarzystwo Retoryczne
Keywords: enemy image; international crisis; presidential rhetoric; use of force
Summary/Abstract: This article concerns enemy image construction in post-Cold War presidential foreign policy crisis rhetoric. It identifies the elements of President Donald J. Trump’s enemy imagery in the 2019-2020 Persian Gulf crisis. The analysis is based on Robert L. Ivie’s concept of savagery and John R. Butler’s and Jason A. Edward’s typology of savage imagery. The article makes a claim that Trump represented Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani as a modern savage to justify the US’ taking military action to eliminate the enemy. A close reading of the president’s language is followed by a discussion of the implications of his choices for the American convention of foreign policy crisis rhetoric.
Journal: Res Rhetorica
- Issue Year: 9/2022
- Issue No: 2
- Page Range: 43-61
- Page Count: 19
- Language: English