The hollow man: Donald Trump, populism, and post-truth politics

Lakoff, Robin Tolmach

doi:10.1075/jlp.17022.lak

Article published In: Right-Wing Populism in Europe & USA: Contesting Politics & Discourse beyond ‘Orbanism’ and ‘Trumpism’
Edited by Ruth Wodak and Michał Krzyżanowski
[Journal of Language and Politics 16:4] 2017
► pp. 595–606

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The hollow man

Donald Trump, populism, and post-truth politics

Robin Tolmach Lakoff | University of California, Berkeley

Published online: 12 June 2017

https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.17022.lak

Abstract

Donald J. Trump’s surprising victory in the 2016 American presidential election requires analysis: what brought it about, and what might it portend? This paper explores these and other questions: how have Trump’s victory and his communicative strategies compromised the culture’s notions of “truth” – via a continuum from “lie” through “post-truth,” “truthiness,” and “alternative facts” to “truth”? Is Trump – judging from his language and other communications – really a populist? And how are we to understand his many idiosyncrasies of discourse, as well as his supporters’ unwillingness to worry about them?

Keywords: Donald J. Trump, Hillary Clinton, 2016 U.S. presidential election, truth, post-truth, truthiness, fake news

Article outline

1.The Wizard of Oz
2.The wise men
3.The popular Trump
4.The death of truth
5.What do Trump’s supporters want?
6.Trumpty Dumpty
7.Truthiness and consequences
8.So…
Notes
References

References (11)

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This list is based on CrossRef data as of 13 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.