GENDER, IDEOLOGY, AND PERSUASION: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF DONALD TRUMP AND KAMALA HARRIS 2024 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Abstract

The study scrutinizes the discursive strategies used by Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in a single 2024 presidential debate, focusing on the use of positive self-representation and negative other-representation through hyperbole, consensus, and actor description. This study also explores how Democrats and Republicans use different strategies in the portrayal of different issues to influence public opinion. This research utilizes mixed methods, qualitative and quantitative, and the data is collected from the primary source. Tuen Van Dijk's Socio-cognitive model is applied as a theoretical framework to analyze the debate. The analysis reflects that, while both politicians utilize different persuasive strategies to appeal to their audiences, their languages mirror different patterns associated with male and female communication tactics.  The analysis also reveals that Donald Trump's arguments are mostly based on facts, figures, and strong claims, which suggests that male politicians are logical. On the other hand, Kamala Harris shares personal stories and emotional examples, which show that female politicians are more emotional and empathetic.

Keywords: Positive Self-representation, Negative Other-representation, Actor Description, Concensus, Hyperbole, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump