Trump: The Threat of Chaos and the Promise of Stability

TIM MATHENY & MARK GOODMAN
Mississippi State University, USA

Abstract
In his acceptance speech for the Republican nomination to be President of the United States, Donald J. Trump presented the audience with a stark world of good vs. evil, chaos vs. stability. We use Burke’s concept good terms and evil terms to rhetorically analyze the acceptance speech. While Trump used specific references to real events in his use of good and evil terms, his promises for stability over chaos are indefinite terms, which allowed a divided Republican Party to unite behind his candidacy. However, governance has required concrete concepts to solve real world issues.

Keywords: Binary oppositions, emotions, semiotics, strict father

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Dr. Tim Matheny teaches theater classes at Mississippi State University and directs plays. His research includes work in theater criticism and methods. Dr. Matheny is an assistant professor of communication. Along with teaching theater classes, he directs plays for the theater program.
Dr. Mark Goodman teaches mass media classes at MSU and has published many articles in Media Watch on mass media effects. He is a professor of communication.