Trump's tweets as policy narratives: Constructing the immigration issue via social media

Abstract

AbstractThis study uses the Narrative Policy Framework to examine President Trump's tweets about immigration policy from 2011 to 2020. Based on a content analysis of 1733 tweets, I show that Trump's policy narratives centered on the villain character type, though the actual villains varied over time, and that the hero character became increasingly prominent throughout Trump's administration. While the characters, settings, and solutions in Trump's immigration policy tweets fluctuated, they were consistent with a narrative strategy of conflict expansion, focusing on threats from dangerous “outsiders” and the neutralization of those threats by Trump and his allies in the Republican Party and law enforcement. I demonstrate that tweets featuring villains and victims were positively associated with retweets and replies, while tweets featuring heroes were negatively associated with retweets and replies. This research suggests that Trump's immigration policy tweets were strategic, though his efforts to shape immigration policy may have been secondary to his political goals of securing electoral victories and amassing power.Related ArticlesChang, Katherine T., and Elizabeth A. Koebele. 2020. “What Drives Coalitions' Narrative Strategy? Exploring Policy Narratives around School Choice.” Politics & Policy 48(4): 618–57. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12367.Garrett, Terence Michael. 2020. “The Security Apparatus, Federal Magistrate Courts, and Detention Centers as Simulacra: The Effects of Trump's Zero Tolerance Policy on Migrants and Refugees in the Rio Grande Valley.” Politics & Policy 48(2): 372–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12348.Shanahan, Elizabeth A., Mark K. McBeth, and Paul L. Hathaway. 2011. “Narrative Policy Framework: The Influence of Media Policy Narrative on Public Opinion.” Politics & Policy 39(3): 373–400. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2011.00295.x.