The Rise of Right-Wing Populism A Critical Discourse Analysis of Donald J Trump‘s 2016 Presidential Campaign Speeches

Abstract

This study analyzes the fundamental factors and strategies the right-wing employs in presentday politics. This will be achieved by analyzing the discourses of Donald J. Trump, who is recognized as a successful figure among right-wing populist politicians in the U.S. Three key speeches from Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign have been specifically selected for this research to meet the study's objectives. The study employs a qualitative research method through the use of Van Dijk's socio-cognitive approach to CDA and his ideological square as well, as an analytical framework of the research data. The findings demonstrate that Trump's speeches display an ideology that employs us vs. them strategic patterns of division and the core idea of populism: the good people vs. the corrupt, weak, and inept elite. Additionally, Trump frequently used the strategy of highlighting the other negatives and drawbacks attributes in his speeches