Discursive Construction of National Identity in Donald Trump’s America First Narrative

This paper is an analysis of the discursive construction of American national identity by the America First narratives of Donald Trump, involving inclusion and exclusion tactics. Although the contemporary literature has focused on populism of Trump, it has given minimal focus to the specific linguistic and rhetorical processes that determine his nationalism discourse. The study examines a purposive sample of Trump speeches that include 2017 Inaugural Address, State of the Union speeches, and selected campaign rallies using the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The text being analyzed involves repeated use of language, lexical clustering, metaphors, pronominal contrasts, and us-versus-them framing, which are used to explore how language can serve as an instrument of power in the redefining of the boundaries between true Americans and the other (immigrants, foreign countries, and the global institutions). Results suggest that Trump builds national identity by using exclusive terms (they, them) that demonize immigrants and foreign actors as a threat to national identity and prosperity, and inclusive terms (we, our) that build solidarity. In addition, negative stereotyping and nationalism legitimizing appeals support exclusionary policies and strengthen the loyalty to the in-group. In theory, the research is relevant to the discourse and ideology literature in that it uses the three-dimensional model of Fairclough and the social-cognitive analysis of Van Dijk to Trump rhetoric. In practice, it illuminates the mobilisation of collective identity by political leaders’ use of language and this applies not only to the political discourse of the country but the world at large and U.S. values and allies. The study highlights the strength of discourse to formulate the national identity, especially during the polarization and the global uncertainty, providing a way forward on the next comparative and longitudinal research involving populist rhetoric.