Donald Trump has been referred to as a populist candidate since 2016. During the 2024 campaign we have found 12.4 times more online materials simultaneously mentioning Trump and populism. This article provides an overview of the academic perceptions of populism and identifies the criteria associated with the concept. This allows us to check whether describing Trump’s rhetoric as ‘populist’ is justified. After having received 7 positive criteria out of 9, we have come to the conclusion that this concept is valid. At the second stage of our research, we analyzed the ‘anti-populist’ rhetoric of Kamala Harris. We have applied the same criteria and found 6 out of 9 matches. As a result, we come to the conclusion that both sides of the 2024 presidential rally are relying on certain populist practices. There are two possible explanations. Thus, it means either that populism is a common political deliberately stigmatized by some of the actors (as described by Ernesto Laclau), or that a general shift towards populism has taken place in the American politics.
Anastasia Strakevich (Wed,) studied this question.