Trump: The Threat of Chaos and the Promise of Stability

Trump: The Threat of Chaos and the Promise of Stability

TIM MATHENY & MARK GOODMAN
Mississippi State University, USA

Media Watch 9 (1) 5-17, 2018

DOI: 10.15655/mw/2018/v9i1/49283

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.