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Article published In: Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 19:5 (2020) ► pp.733–765

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Populism in performance?

Trump on the stump and his audience

ORCiD logo with link | University of Macau | University of Strathclyde
Published online: 25 August 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20019.mon
Abstract
Much commentary on the discourse of Donald Trump’s populist appeal has tended to focus on his use of Twitter, to the relative neglect of his campaign rallies. Yet his campaign rallies during the presidential election were arguably crucial for delivering the votes which secured his victory. Members of his own team, and Trump himself, certainly thought so.
Since the election Trump has continued to campaign in rallies in key states with increasing vigour, attracting large audiences as the second term elections in 2020 approach.
These large-scale public events confirm the bond between Trump and his base. But they also require us to re-focus attention beyond Trump as an individual figure to the process of mutual engagement between him and his highly active and vocal audience.
This article, by examining the overall communicative behaviour of participants at his rallies asks: “Is the audience Trump’s creation or is Trump the audience’s creation?”
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction: Trump’s campaign rally speeches: The research paradox
  • 2.From William Jennings Bryan to Donald J. Trump: The conversationalisation and informalisation of public discourse
  • 3.Trump’s speech-making: Two planes of discourse – Direct Discourse versus Oblique Discourse
  • 4.Projecting audience response: The individual and the collective; invited versus uninvited applause
  • 5.The repertoire of audience responses/modalities of participation
    • 5.1Clapping
    • 5.2Cheering and clapping
    • 5.3Booing
    • 5.4Laughing
    • 5.5Chanting
    • 5.6Gesticulating
  • 6.Further Characteristics of Trump’s Direct Discourse
    • 6.1Phrasal Repetition as Coda, Reinforcement, and Response-Invitation
    • 6.2Reported speech and hypothetical exchanges
    • 6.3Favourable reference to us
    • 6.4Unfavourable references to them
    • 6.5Projecting a name
  • 7.Conclusions
  • Afterword, July 8th, 2020
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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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.

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