Trump, Twitter, and Trade: Does Language Choice Reflect Trump’s Hegemonic Masculinity?

Christina Fattore, PhD and Karsyn Wagner
Department of Political Science, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505

Presentation Category: Social & Behavioral Sciences (Poster Presentation)

Student’s Major: International Studies

Since the 2016 election, President Trump has been highly critical of previously existing trade agreements and has prioritized more favorable deals for the United States in order to put “America First”. Trump prides himself on being a strong negotiator considering his business background and has approached diplomacy in the same way he would a business deal. Previously, all public statements made by US Presidents have been scripted and posted on the official POTUS Twitter account. Trump has continued to use his personal account through his presidency, rarely using traditionally diplomatic language, opting for language that projects strength and toughness. We expect that Trump uses tougher, more masculine language regarding the US’s trade relationship with China and the European Union because he considers them to be equals. Conversely, we expect Trump’s trade tweets to not use strong, masculine language regarding NAFTA/USMCA negotiations because the US has the upper hand in those particular relationships. We test our hypotheses using content analysis of tweets from the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account comparing language usage in tweets regarding targeted trade competitors.

Funding: WVU SURE

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: a West Virginia SURE program