Political Rhetoric: Overview

Political rhetoric encompasses the art of persuasion through spoken or written communication, primarily in the realm of government and societal discourse. This form of rhetoric has a rich history dating back to ancient Greece and Rome, where it was foundational to political engagement and democracy. In the modern context, particularly in the twenty-first century, political rhetoric has evolved alongside technological advancements, allowing for greater dissemination of messages through various media such as social media, blogs, and traditional outlets like television and print.

Effective political rhetoric often aims to resonate emotionally with audiences while presenting factual arguments to sway public opinion on policies or political positions. However, contemporary debates highlight concerns about partisanship, with critics arguing that rhetoric can deepen divisions and make compromise more challenging. Discussions surrounding political rhetoric intensified following events like the 2016 U.S. presidential election, where the rhetoric of figures such as Donald Trump was scrutinized for its potential to incite division and violence. The interplay between rhetorical strategies and public sentiment continues to shape political discourse, raising questions about the role of rhetoric in fostering constructive dialogue or exacerbating societal discord. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for anyone interested in the impact of communication on political landscapes.

Full Article

Introduction

Rhetoric is the art of speaking or writing in a way that communicates a point clearly, often with the goal of persuading an audience of the merit of a particular point of view. Political rhetoric deploys this art in the service of government and society, and has been used since at least the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The twenty-first-century context adds a new twist to the operation of political rhetoric, which is that people around the world now use a wide range of media to communicate with one another, enabling all kinds of rhetoric to reach more people than ever before.

Good political rhetoric presents facts in a way that convinces audiences of the merits of a policy or political position, usually by generating an emotional response in addition to an intellectual one. In a democracy, political parties compete through political rhetoric, each trying to persuade a majority of voters that its position is the best for the community, state, or country as a whole. In the United States in the early twenty-first century, a debate began over whether mainstream political rhetoric in its current form facilitates or subverts the establishment of common ground on key issues. Some argue that modern political rhetoric "preaches to the converted," issuing emotional appeals that solidify party support and isolate those who disagree with it, thus making compromise difficult or impossible. Others say public debate in the United States is entirely in line with the historic operation of American democracy and should not be cause for concern.

Understanding the Discussion

Deliberative rhetoric: Rhetoric that tries to persuade an audience to act, employed in the context of political decision-making.

Epideictic rhetoric: Rhetoric that is ceremonial in nature, offering praise or blame for a person, thing, or event.

Forensic rhetoric: Rhetoric that focuses on guilt or innocence in a legal or judicial context.

Partisanship: Dedicated support for a particular political party, in the US context either the Democratic or Republican Party.

History

In the Western world, the most influential early articulation of the principles of rhetoric comes from the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Writing in the fourth century BCE, he argued that humans are, by nature, social beings, and that many of the institutions and concepts they have developed are the natural results of their social tendencies. For example, Aristotle saw rational speech as a tool to draw humans together, and he saw communities as extensions of human families. Political states, he argued, exist to satisfy the desires of those communities.

One of Aristotle’s best-known works of political philosophy, titled Rhetoric, presents a three-part analysis of how rhetoric, or persuasive speech, works. Aristotle argued that speech can persuade an audience based on the character of the speaker, the emotional state of the audience, or the rational argument the speaker is making. Aristotle also argued that there are three different types of rhetoric. The first is the deliberative form, in which the speaker advises the audience to do or avoid doing something; deliberative rhetoric is typically concerned with establishing what is useful to the people and what is dangerous for them, and has widespread political applications. Forensic rhetoric, the second form, is more focused on convincing the audience of an individual’s guilt or innocence; such language, which takes into account evidence, motivation, and the mindset of the audience, is commonly used in judicial contexts. The third form is epideictic rhetoric, which is largely ceremonial in nature, used to issue praise or blame on formal occasions.

Aristotle’s formulation of the workings of rhetoric has remained influential in formal approaches to the subject down to the present day. With the decline of the Greco-Roman world and the rise of Christian Europe, political oratory in the Greek democratic tradition fell away, but the need for the educated few to guide the masses and persuade the established powers remained. Religious imagery drawn from the Bible came to suffuse Western political rhetoric through the Middle Ages and into the modern era, joining with the revival of the ancient concept of democracy in the establishment of the United States.

Historically, American political rhetoric viewed as the most successful has effectively distilled the concepts most important to the United States as a nation. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln penned what many consider to be the greatest political speech in American history, the Gettysburg Address. The speech was only three hundred words long, but its words were both epideictic and deliberative, and it would be used to help heal the wounds of the Civil War. Other great American speeches, from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933 inaugural address to Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have a Dream" speech, have had a similar effect: they did not necessarily contain concrete proposals or facts; rather, they energized the emotions of the nation to effect (in the minds of most people) positive social change.

Not all political rhetoric unites, however. In a democracy, deliberative rhetoric is competitive, pitting opposing points of view against one another in a battle for a critical mass of public support that will confer political power on the winning side. Usually, however, it is not a complete win for one side or the other, but some form of compromise.

Political rhetoric in the twenty-first century has continued to evolve. Its deliberative, epideictic, and forensic forms are still manifest, although it may be argued that, in light of the overwhelming array of information resources now available, there is an equally overwhelming amount of rhetoric to which people are exposed, and through which they have to sort. Whereas the American colonists used pamphlets to spread the word about their cause during the Revolution, today political actors use email, blogs, and social media to spread their messages, in addition to television, radio, and print media.

Some people feel that American political rhetoric has moved away from the goal of democratic compromise and toward ever more rancorous partisanship. In the early decades of the twenty-first century, Americans were seen as irreparably divided over issues like health-care reform, the national budget, immigration policy, gun control, abortion, and the war on terrorism. Many were concerned that the kind of rhetoric being used on both sides of these issues prevented compromises from being struck. Others have said these deep disagreements are simply in the nature of democratic politics, and are not anything new to history.

In fact, there is evidence that by the 2020s political rhetoric was no longer entirely focused on persuasion. Studies showed that the type of rhetoric commonly used in public debate may not persuade people to change their minds about issues but merely drive them further into their respective camps and increase the issue’s intensity. This trend, in the eyes of some, has undermined the very political discourse that Aristotle’s ideal of rhetoric is supposed to promote: By pushing people with firm opinions further apart and alienating many of those who are uncommitted, opponents of this type of rhetoric argue, political divisions will continue or worsen without any substantive policy action being taken.

Others can point to the highly venomous nature of disagreements in American politics going back to the first years of the republic—to say nothing of the actual fracturing of the nation over the issue of slavery in the Civil War. The social and political discord of the civil rights era and the Vietnam War can be held up as examples of partisanship. From this point of view, the divided nature of American political rhetoric is just in the nature of an open society with freedom of speech. Furthermore, the technological innovations of the twenty-first century have been seen by many as much more of a boon than a burden, offering those who want to educate themselves about the issues an abundance of opportunities to do so—provided they can sort logic from emotion.

Political Rhetoric Today

Discussion around the nature of American political rhetoric became increasingly prominent following the 2016 presidential campaign and subsequent election of Donald Trump. Many commentators noted that Trump's partisan and inflammatory style, especially on Twitter, raised concerns about divisiveness, particularly on issues like immigration and race. Some, especially Democrats, expressed concern that the president's rhetoric was dangerously divisive in favor of appealing to his base of supporters, while others felt that his rhetoric was being unfairly blamed for hateful attitudes and violence. The debate over the possible role of political rhetoric in motivating violence was not new, highlighted by incidents like the 2011 shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords. A 2019 Pew Research Center poll indicated that 85 percent of the American public felt that political debate had become more negative, while 73 percent believed that elected officials should avoid using heated language for fear that it could incite violence. As more attention was paid to potential links between Trump's rhetoric and instances of violence, including a review conducted by ABC News in early 2020 that reported finding fifty-four criminal cases of violent acts in which Trump and his rhetoric had been invoked, some argued direct connections should not be made, noting other politically relevant violent incidents, such as the 2017 shooting by a Bernie Sanders volunteer during a Republican congressional baseball practice.

The contentious and controversial 2020 presidential election only further stoked this debate surrounding political rhetoric. It was widely noted and discussed that during the campaign leading up to the vote in November 2020, incumbent president Trump had once again heavily employed negative rhetoric about both his opponent, Joe Biden, and the electoral process. Through social media and public rallies, he continuously attempted to use rhetoric pertaining to the validity of the electoral process, particularly the increased implementation of mail-in voting prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, to sow doubts in voters' minds about this democratic institution. Following the election, Trump, as well as other Republican politicians, used rhetoric in which they labeled the election and its outcome granting victory to Biden as fraudulent. When a large group of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, to disrupt Congress's certification of the counted Electoral College votes, many commentators pointed to Trump's rhetoric, particularly in a speech he gave shortly before the incident, for inciting such violence. Indeed, by 2022, a House select committee's investigation into the attack had gathered substantial evidence suggesting that many participants were directly motivated by Trump's tweets and speeches in the preceding weeks.

Political rhetoric used in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election continued to be marked by deep partisan divides and heightened tensions. Trump and his allies blamed the rhetoric of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris for the assassination attempt on Trump during a campaign rally in July, while Trump himself was criticized for continuing to make inflammatory and false claims through rhetoric about national security threats and accusations of foreign interference in democracy. Declining public trust and increasing partisan polarization caused concerns about the resilience of democracy in the United States, but political analysts cautioned against blaming any single candidate or party for the rise in political violence.

These essays and any opinions, information, or representations contained therein are the creation of the particular author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of EBSCO Information Services.



Bibliography

Connolly, Joy. The State of Speech: Rhetoric and Political Thought in Ancient Rome. Princeton UP, 2007.

Drake, Bruce, and Jocelyn Kiley. "Americans Say the Nation's Political Debate Has Grown More Toxic and 'Heated' Rhetoric Could Lead to Violence." Pew Research Center, 18 July 2019, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/18/americans-say-the-nations-political-debate-has-grown-more-toxic-and-heated-rhetoric-could-lead-to-violence/. Accessed 22 Oct. 2020.

Dreisbach, Tom. "How Trump's 'Will Be Wild!" Tweet Drew Rioters to the Capitol on Jan. 6." NPR, 13 July 2022, www.npr.org/2022/07/13/1111341161/how-trumps-will-be-wild-tweet-drew-rioters-to-the-capitol-on-jan-6. Accessed 27 Sept. 2022.

Dryzek, John S. "Rhetoric in Democracy: A Systemic Appreciation." Political Theory, vol. 38, no. 3, 2010, pp. 319–39. Academic Search Complete. Accessed 1 Jul. 2011.

Elfrink, Tim. "'The Shooter Is Responsible': Rep. Steve Scalise Says Trump's Rhetoric Is Not to Blame for El Paso Attack." The Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/08/12/steve-scalise-donald-trump-el-paso-anti-immigrant-rhetoric/. Accessed 22 Oct. 2020.

Emord, Jonathan W. "These Three Kings." USA Today Magazine, Mar. 2014, p. 50. Points of View Reference Center. Accessed 5 Feb. 2016.

Garsten, Bryan. "The Rhetoric Revival in Political Theory." Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 14, no. 1, 2011, pp. 159–80. Academic Search Complete. Accessed 1 July 2011.

Ikeda, Sandy. "Hating Politics, Loving Government." Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, vol. 64, no. 4, 2014, p. 28. Points of View Reference Center. Accessed 5 Feb. 2016.

Kim, Richard. "Obama’s Cancerous Metaphor." Nation, vol. 299, no. 17, 2014, pp. 10–11.

Levine, Mike. "'No Blame?' ABC News Finds 54 Cases Invoking 'Trump' in Connection with Violence, Threats, Alleged Assaults." ABC News, 30 May 2020, abcnews.go.com/Politics/blame-abc-news-finds-17-cases-invoking-trump/story?id=58912889. Accessed 22 Oct. 2020.

Nelson, Rebecca. "The War on Partisanship." National Journal, vol. 47, no. 44, 2015, p. 14. Points of View Reference Center. Accessed 5 Feb. 2016.

"Plus Ça Change." World Today, vol. 70, no. 5, 2014, p. 49.

Remnick, David. "World-Weary." New Yorker, 15 Sept. 2014, p. 27.

Rubin, Olivia. "Experts Call for Election Day Preparedness after Trump's Debate Rhetoric Stirs Already Heightened Concerns." ABC News, 1 Oct. 2020, abcnews.go.com/Politics/experts-call-election-day-preparedness-trumps-debate-rhetoric/story?id=73308876. Accessed 27 Sept. 2022.

Slisco, Aila. "Has 2024 Campaign Rhetoric Gone Too Far? Analysts Weigh In." Newsweek, 18 Sept. 2024, www.newsweek.com/has-2024-campaign-rhetoric-gone-too-far-analysts-weigh-1954850. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

Thompson, Mark. Enough Said: What's Gone Wrong with the Language of Politics? St. Martin's, 2016.

Thompson, Mark. "From Trump to Brexit Rhetoric: How Today's Politicians Have Got Away with Words." Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 27 Aug. 2016. Accessed 29 Sept. 2016.

Full Article

Introduction

Rhetoric is the art of speaking or writing in a way that communicates a point clearly, often with the goal of persuading an audience of the merit of a particular point of view. Political rhetoric deploys this art in the service of government and society, and has been used since at least the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The twenty-first-century context adds a new twist to the operation of political rhetoric, which is that people around the world now use a wide range of media to communicate with one another, enabling all kinds of rhetoric to reach more people than ever before.

Good political rhetoric presents facts in a way that convinces audiences of the merits of a policy or political position, usually by generating an emotional response in addition to an intellectual one. In a democracy, political parties compete through political rhetoric, each trying to persuade a majority of voters that its position is the best for the community, state, or country as a whole. In the United States in the early twenty-first century, a debate began over whether mainstream political rhetoric in its current form facilitates or subverts the establishment of common ground on key issues. Some argue that modern political rhetoric "preaches to the converted," issuing emotional appeals that solidify party support and isolate those who disagree with it, thus making compromise difficult or impossible. Others say public debate in the United States is entirely in line with the historic operation of American democracy and should not be cause for concern.

Understanding the Discussion

Deliberative rhetoric: Rhetoric that tries to persuade an audience to act, employed in the context of political decision-making.

Epideictic rhetoric: Rhetoric that is ceremonial in nature, offering praise or blame for a person, thing, or event.

Forensic rhetoric: Rhetoric that focuses on guilt or innocence in a legal or judicial context.

Partisanship: Dedicated support for a particular political party, in the US context either the Democratic or Republican Party.

History

In the Western world, the most influential early articulation of the principles of rhetoric comes from the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Writing in the fourth century BCE, he argued that humans are, by nature, social beings, and that many of the institutions and concepts they have developed are the natural results of their social tendencies. For example, Aristotle saw rational speech as a tool to draw humans together, and he saw communities as extensions of human families. Political states, he argued, exist to satisfy the desires of those communities.

One of Aristotle’s best-known works of political philosophy, titled Rhetoric, presents a three-part analysis of how rhetoric, or persuasive speech, works. Aristotle argued that speech can persuade an audience based on the character of the speaker, the emotional state of the audience, or the rational argument the speaker is making. Aristotle also argued that there are three different types of rhetoric. The first is the deliberative form, in which the speaker advises the audience to do or avoid doing something; deliberative rhetoric is typically concerned with establishing what is useful to the people and what is dangerous for them, and has widespread political applications. Forensic rhetoric, the second form, is more focused on convincing the audience of an individual’s guilt or innocence; such language, which takes into account evidence, motivation, and the mindset of the audience, is commonly used in judicial contexts. The third form is epideictic rhetoric, which is largely ceremonial in nature, used to issue praise or blame on formal occasions.

Aristotle’s formulation of the workings of rhetoric has remained influential in formal approaches to the subject down to the present day. With the decline of the Greco-Roman world and the rise of Christian Europe, political oratory in the Greek democratic tradition fell away, but the need for the educated few to guide the masses and persuade the established powers remained. Religious imagery drawn from the Bible came to suffuse Western political rhetoric through the Middle Ages and into the modern era, joining with the revival of the ancient concept of democracy in the establishment of the United States.

Historically, American political rhetoric viewed as the most successful has effectively distilled the concepts most important to the United States as a nation. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln penned what many consider to be the greatest political speech in American history, the Gettysburg Address. The speech was only three hundred words long, but its words were both epideictic and deliberative, and it would be used to help heal the wounds of the Civil War. Other great American speeches, from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933 inaugural address to Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have a Dream" speech, have had a similar effect: they did not necessarily contain concrete proposals or facts; rather, they energized the emotions of the nation to effect (in the minds of most people) positive social change.

Not all political rhetoric unites, however. In a democracy, deliberative rhetoric is competitive, pitting opposing points of view against one another in a battle for a critical mass of public support that will confer political power on the winning side. Usually, however, it is not a complete win for one side or the other, but some form of compromise.

Political rhetoric in the twenty-first century has continued to evolve. Its deliberative, epideictic, and forensic forms are still manifest, although it may be argued that, in light of the overwhelming array of information resources now available, there is an equally overwhelming amount of rhetoric to which people are exposed, and through which they have to sort. Whereas the American colonists used pamphlets to spread the word about their cause during the Revolution, today political actors use email, blogs, and social media to spread their messages, in addition to television, radio, and print media.

Some people feel that American political rhetoric has moved away from the goal of democratic compromise and toward ever more rancorous partisanship. In the early decades of the twenty-first century, Americans were seen as irreparably divided over issues like health-care reform, the national budget, immigration policy, gun control, abortion, and the war on terrorism. Many were concerned that the kind of rhetoric being used on both sides of these issues prevented compromises from being struck. Others have said these deep disagreements are simply in the nature of democratic politics, and are not anything new to history.

In fact, there is evidence that by the 2020s political rhetoric was no longer entirely focused on persuasion. Studies showed that the type of rhetoric commonly used in public debate may not persuade people to change their minds about issues but merely drive them further into their respective camps and increase the issue’s intensity. This trend, in the eyes of some, has undermined the very political discourse that Aristotle’s ideal of rhetoric is supposed to promote: By pushing people with firm opinions further apart and alienating many of those who are uncommitted, opponents of this type of rhetoric argue, political divisions will continue or worsen without any substantive policy action being taken.

Others can point to the highly venomous nature of disagreements in American politics going back to the first years of the republic—to say nothing of the actual fracturing of the nation over the issue of slavery in the Civil War. The social and political discord of the civil rights era and the Vietnam War can be held up as examples of partisanship. From this point of view, the divided nature of American political rhetoric is just in the nature of an open society with freedom of speech. Furthermore, the technological innovations of the twenty-first century have been seen by many as much more of a boon than a burden, offering those who want to educate themselves about the issues an abundance of opportunities to do so—provided they can sort logic from emotion.

Political Rhetoric Today

Discussion around the nature of American political rhetoric became increasingly prominent following the 2016 presidential campaign and subsequent election of Donald Trump. Many commentators noted that Trump's partisan and inflammatory style, especially on Twitter, raised concerns about divisiveness, particularly on issues like immigration and race. Some, especially Democrats, expressed concern that the president's rhetoric was dangerously divisive in favor of appealing to his base of supporters, while others felt that his rhetoric was being unfairly blamed for hateful attitudes and violence. The debate over the possible role of political rhetoric in motivating violence was not new, highlighted by incidents like the 2011 shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords. A 2019 Pew Research Center poll indicated that 85 percent of the American public felt that political debate had become more negative, while 73 percent believed that elected officials should avoid using heated language for fear that it could incite violence. As more attention was paid to potential links between Trump's rhetoric and instances of violence, including a review conducted by ABC News in early 2020 that reported finding fifty-four criminal cases of violent acts in which Trump and his rhetoric had been invoked, some argued direct connections should not be made, noting other politically relevant violent incidents, such as the 2017 shooting by a Bernie Sanders volunteer during a Republican congressional baseball practice.

The contentious and controversial 2020 presidential election only further stoked this debate surrounding political rhetoric. It was widely noted and discussed that during the campaign leading up to the vote in November 2020, incumbent president Trump had once again heavily employed negative rhetoric about both his opponent, Joe Biden, and the electoral process. Through social media and public rallies, he continuously attempted to use rhetoric pertaining to the validity of the electoral process, particularly the increased implementation of mail-in voting prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, to sow doubts in voters' minds about this democratic institution. Following the election, Trump, as well as other Republican politicians, used rhetoric in which they labeled the election and its outcome granting victory to Biden as fraudulent. When a large group of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, to disrupt Congress's certification of the counted Electoral College votes, many commentators pointed to Trump's rhetoric, particularly in a speech he gave shortly before the incident, for inciting such violence. Indeed, by 2022, a House select committee's investigation into the attack had gathered substantial evidence suggesting that many participants were directly motivated by Trump's tweets and speeches in the preceding weeks.

Political rhetoric used in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election continued to be marked by deep partisan divides and heightened tensions. Trump and his allies blamed the rhetoric of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris for the assassination attempt on Trump during a campaign rally in July, while Trump himself was criticized for continuing to make inflammatory and false claims through rhetoric about national security threats and accusations of foreign interference in democracy. Declining public trust and increasing partisan polarization caused concerns about the resilience of democracy in the United States, but political analysts cautioned against blaming any single candidate or party for the rise in political violence.

These essays and any opinions, information, or representations contained therein are the creation of the particular author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of EBSCO Information Services.



Bibliography

Connolly, Joy. The State of Speech: Rhetoric and Political Thought in Ancient Rome. Princeton UP, 2007.

Drake, Bruce, and Jocelyn Kiley. "Americans Say the Nation's Political Debate Has Grown More Toxic and 'Heated' Rhetoric Could Lead to Violence." Pew Research Center, 18 July 2019, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/18/americans-say-the-nations-political-debate-has-grown-more-toxic-and-heated-rhetoric-could-lead-to-violence/. Accessed 22 Oct. 2020.

Dreisbach, Tom. "How Trump's 'Will Be Wild!" Tweet Drew Rioters to the Capitol on Jan. 6." NPR, 13 July 2022, www.npr.org/2022/07/13/1111341161/how-trumps-will-be-wild-tweet-drew-rioters-to-the-capitol-on-jan-6. Accessed 27 Sept. 2022.

Dryzek, John S. "Rhetoric in Democracy: A Systemic Appreciation." Political Theory, vol. 38, no. 3, 2010, pp. 319–39. Academic Search Complete. Accessed 1 Jul. 2011.

Elfrink, Tim. "'The Shooter Is Responsible': Rep. Steve Scalise Says Trump's Rhetoric Is Not to Blame for El Paso Attack." The Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/08/12/steve-scalise-donald-trump-el-paso-anti-immigrant-rhetoric/. Accessed 22 Oct. 2020.

Emord, Jonathan W. "These Three Kings." USA Today Magazine, Mar. 2014, p. 50. Points of View Reference Center. Accessed 5 Feb. 2016.

Garsten, Bryan. "The Rhetoric Revival in Political Theory." Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 14, no. 1, 2011, pp. 159–80. Academic Search Complete. Accessed 1 July 2011.

Ikeda, Sandy. "Hating Politics, Loving Government." Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, vol. 64, no. 4, 2014, p. 28. Points of View Reference Center. Accessed 5 Feb. 2016.

Kim, Richard. "Obama’s Cancerous Metaphor." Nation, vol. 299, no. 17, 2014, pp. 10–11.

Levine, Mike. "'No Blame?' ABC News Finds 54 Cases Invoking 'Trump' in Connection with Violence, Threats, Alleged Assaults." ABC News, 30 May 2020, abcnews.go.com/Politics/blame-abc-news-finds-17-cases-invoking-trump/story?id=58912889. Accessed 22 Oct. 2020.

Nelson, Rebecca. "The War on Partisanship." National Journal, vol. 47, no. 44, 2015, p. 14. Points of View Reference Center. Accessed 5 Feb. 2016.

"Plus Ça Change." World Today, vol. 70, no. 5, 2014, p. 49.

Remnick, David. "World-Weary." New Yorker, 15 Sept. 2014, p. 27.

Rubin, Olivia. "Experts Call for Election Day Preparedness after Trump's Debate Rhetoric Stirs Already Heightened Concerns." ABC News, 1 Oct. 2020, abcnews.go.com/Politics/experts-call-election-day-preparedness-trumps-debate-rhetoric/story?id=73308876. Accessed 27 Sept. 2022.

Slisco, Aila. "Has 2024 Campaign Rhetoric Gone Too Far? Analysts Weigh In." Newsweek, 18 Sept. 2024, www.newsweek.com/has-2024-campaign-rhetoric-gone-too-far-analysts-weigh-1954850. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

Thompson, Mark. Enough Said: What's Gone Wrong with the Language of Politics? St. Martin's, 2016.

Thompson, Mark. "From Trump to Brexit Rhetoric: How Today's Politicians Have Got Away with Words." Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 27 Aug. 2016. Accessed 29 Sept. 2016.

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