The Use of Impoliteness in Donald Trump’s Speeches During His Second Presidency
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35516/Hum.2026.11065Keywords:
Impoliteness, Impoliteness Functions, Political Speech.Abstract
Objectives: This study investigates the impoliteness strategies used by Donald Trump in speeches during his second presidency of the United States. It aims to analyze the function of these strategies based on Culpeper's (1996) impoliteness framework, with a focus on two of Trump’s speeches.
Methods: A quantitative analysis was conducted to measure the frequency of impoliteness strategies in the speeches. The strategies were categorized according to Culpeper's (1996) model, while a qualitative analysis was employed to explore the functions of these strategies.
Results: The findings reveal that the most frequently used impoliteness strategy in Trump’s speeches is Positive impoliteness, accounting for 43% of instances. Negative impoliteness is the second most common, followed by Bald on record (19.7%). The least used strategy was sarcasm or mocking impoliteness, at 4.3%. Regarding the function of these strategies, Coercive impoliteness was the most frequently employed, as identified by Culpeper (2011).
Conclusions: The study highlights how Trump’s strategic use of impoliteness in his speeches underscores the assertion of power and control, reinforcing his authoritative political stance.
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