Super-Hyperbolic Man: Hyperbole as an Ideological Discourse Strategy in Trump’s Speeches

Abstract

This article attempts to study the use of hyperboles in Trump’s political speeches. Trump built his presidential campaign on a racist stage based on anti-immigration (anti-Muslims and Mexicans), anti-Obama, and anti-Clinton foreign policy. By following McCarthy and Carter (J Pragmat 36:149–184, 2004) approach, the article aims to find out how Trump uses hyperbole to achieve persuasive political interests. The article also aims to demonstrate how hyperbole as an ideological strategy plays a crucial role in the positive representation of Trump and the American natives, and the negative representation of other immigrants, Clinton’s foreign policy, and Obama’s administration. In order to achieve the aims, the data consist of (19) selected speeches spoken by Trump during his 2015–2016 election campaign. The article adopts a mixed method of both, qualitative and quantitative analysis in order to obtain credible results and also to overcome the subjective nature of the qualitative analysis. The results show that Trump uses different types of hyperbolic expressions such as number, amount and quantity, time, adjectives and adverbs of size, degree, and intensity, metaphor, repetition, polysyndeton, and complex modifications to persuade people, influence their minds, distract them away from Clinton, win the presidency, and become the 45th president of the United States of America.