Analysis Of Trump's Campaign Trail Language Says It Reveals A Man Seeking To Redeem Himself And Divide The Country

Former President Donald Trump has a history of using provocative language to draw headlines, stir up support and attack enemies. His words, at times, have been his greatest weapons but also his biggest vulnerability. In recent weeks, he has described Nov. 5, Election Day, as "liberation day" for "hardworking Americans" and "judgment day" for his political enemies. He has called undocumented immigrants who commit crimes "not people" and has claimed Jews who vote for Democrats hate Israel. It's not easy trying to make sense of what often appears to be indiscriminate attacks on migrants and political enemies, but Trump knows how to generate headlines, excite his base and provoke the left simultaneously.

Here are a few of his most common talking points: The U.S.-Mexico border A second Trump term Reshaping the federal government Foreign policy Abortion Trade and tariffs Trans issues The U.S.-Mexico border Nowhere has the former president pushed the boundaries of appropriate language more than on the issue of immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border. He has described migrants as poisoning the blood of the country and calling those who commit crimes "animals." This demonization of migrants is not new. It has been a pillar of his political career ever since he announced his presidential campaign in 2015 and called Mexican immigrants rapists, bringing drugs and crime, while also saying that some are "good people."

The border has now become one of the fieriest political issues ahead of the November elections as both sides, Democrats and Republicans, have been pointing fingers at the other to cast blame for a myriad of problems. It's a clear vulnerability for President Biden and the Democrats. Biden has struggled with historic numbers of people coming across the border. It's not just Republicans who are concerned. An increasing number of Democratic mayors and governors have raised real concerns about the drain of state and local resources in cities hundreds of miles from the border. In a recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, only 29% of respondents said they approve of how Biden is handling immigration. Republicans win the issue over Democrats by 12 percentage points when asked which party handles it better. Critics say Trump is capitalizing on those concerns by playing up anti-immigrant sentiments. While there is little evidence that undocumented immigrants commit more crimes than U.S.-born citizens, Trump and his supporters use anecdotal stories, such as the killing of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley, to paint an ominous picture about America being overrun by violent migrants.

During speeches in Michigan and Wisconsin, Trump accused Biden of creating a "border bloodbath." "This is country-changing, it's country-threatening, and it's country-wrecking," Trump said in Michigan. "They have wrecked our country." What Trump has said: "They're poisoning the blood of our country. That's what they've done. They poison — mental institutions and prisons all over the world. Not just in South America. Not just the three or four countries that we think about. But all over the world they're coming into our country — from Africa, from Asia, all over the world. They're pouring into our country." —Dec. 16, 2023, New Hampshire rally "They're rough people, in many cases from jails, prisons, from mental institutions, insane asylums. You know, insane asylums — that's Silence of the Lambs stuff." —March 4, 2024, interview with Right Side Broadcasting Network "Hannibal Lecter, anybody know Hannibal Lecter? We don't want 'em in this country." —March 4, 2024, interview with Right Side Broadcasting Network A second Trump term Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, salutes at a campaign rally on March 16 in Vandalia, Ohio. Trump has been accused of using autocratic language in this campaign that echoes rhetoric of strongman leaders of the past.

Rather than rejecting those comparisons, Trump has been wielding them as a means to stoke his base, stir up media attention and, in some ways, win back former supporters. One example is when he sparked the anger and indignation of his many critics after declaring he wouldn't be a dictator, "except for Day 1," said Chris Stirewalt, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He says you could see a flash in Trump's eyes when Fox News host Sean Hannity provided Trump an opportunity to assure voters he wouldn't abuse his power. "He realizes he's got a live one on the line, right?" he said. "He has the moment where he knows that the person who he's talking to wants him to say the right thing.

And he knows that the advantage comes in saying the wrong thing." Trump responded "only on Day 1," so that he could close the border and start drilling. "After that, I'm not a dictator, OK?" Trump quipped to Hannity as the crowd in Iowa applauded. Those fiery remarks set off a chain reaction of events and coverage. The media dissected the language, often repeating the dictator-for-a-day comments, and Trump's supporters came out in mass, largely on conservative outlets, attacking the media for, they argued, taking the comments out of context. Stirewalt says Trump also triggered what he called "the anti-anti-Trump immune response," which means Trump reengaged former supporters, who may have felt he went too far on Jan. 6, 2021, and/or objected to his authoritarian tendencies,