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The Rhetorical Construction of Donald Trump Through Parody in the 2016 Election

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The Rhetorical Construction of Donald Trump Through Parody in the 2016 Election Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Spring 5-7-2021 The Rhetoric of Parody and Persona: The Rhetorical Construction of Donald Trump Through Parody in the 2016 Election James Lyle Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Part of the Rhetoric Commons Recommended Citation Lyle, J. (2021). The Rhetoric of Parody and Persona: The Rhetorical Construction of Donald Trump Through Parody in the 2016 Election (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1986 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. THE RHETORIC OF PARODY AND PERSONA: THE RHETORICAL CONSTRUCTION OF DONALD TRUMP THROUGH PARODY IN THE 2016 ELECTION A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By James R. Lyle May 2021 Copyright by James R. Lyle 2021 THE RHETORIC OF PARODY AND PERSONA: THE RHETORICAL CONSTRUCTION OF DONALD TRUMP THROUGH PARODY IN THE 2016 ELECTION By James R. Lyle Approved March 19, 2021 ______________________________ _______________________________ Pat Arneson, Ph.D. Richard H. Thames, PhD Professor of Communication Associate Professor of Communication (Committee Chair) (Committee Member) ______________________________ Anthony M. Wachs, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Communication (Committee Member) ______________________________ ______________________________ Kristine L. Blair, PhD Ronald C. Arnett, Ph.D. Dean, McAnulty College and Chair, Department of Communication & Graduate School of Liberal Arts Rhetorical Studies iii ABSTRACT THE RHETORIC OF PARODY AND PERSONA: THE RHETORICAL CONSTRUCTION OF DONALD TRUMP THROUGH PARODY IN THE 2016 ELECTION By James R. Lyle May 2021 Dissertation supervised by Pat Arneson, Ph.D. The intent of this dissertation is to explore the rhetorical nature of parody in the context of the American electoral process. This work draws on existing research in the field to show how humor is an important method for engaging the public sphere. This project develops the rhetorical nature of humor, works through existing research on conceptualizations of humor and its importance for societal dialogue, and then addresses the specific contributions to the study of parody offered by Mikhail Bakhtin and Kenneth Burke to demonstrate the potential for parody to act as a form of rhetorical illumination of existing rhetorical texts and styles. After documenting the contemporary research that has further articulated the significance of parody in understanding American political engagement, the final chapter offers a case study of parody surrounding the campaign of Donald J. Trump in the 2016 presidential election. The dissertation concludes that parody had important implications for how Donald Trump’s character was expressed and vi understood by the media and the electorate, facilitating a more acceptable perception of who Trump was as someone who might be presidential. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The completion of this dissertation has been a journey that would not have been completed absent the support of many different individuals. First, this dissertation would not be possible without the support of the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies at Duquesne University. From the chair to my committee to the rest of the faculty, I have felt nothing but support. My committee has been unbelievable in their assistance and insights. Thank you, Dr. Thames, Dr. Wachs, and Dr. Arneson. Dr. Arneson has been amazing in supporting my research, reviewing material, and helping to keep me on track. I am forever indebted for everything. To all of you, I say thank you. Second, numerous friends and colleagues have been there in a multitude of ways. The Department of Communication at Clarion University has been instrumental. Other friends from my time in the intercollegiate debate community who I consider to be lifelong friends and supporters have as much to do with this work as anyone. While there are many peers and former debaters whom I am indebted to, Anand, Taylor, and Tim are true friends. Outside of my professional life there have been several people that I am proud to consider as backers of my corner. To Rob and the entire Marianne crew, I say thank you. Finally, I thank my family. My wife, Courtney, and our kids, Connor and Addison, are the best things that have ever happened to me. They have put up with me in this process and I do everything for them. My brothers have been through everything and I would not be who I am without them. While my parents are no longer here, I thank them for setting the stage for this chapter of my life. I particularly wish my mother would be here to read these words. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: RHETORICAL HUMOR…………………………………………………1 CHAPTER 2: FORMS OF HUMOR……………………………………………………32 CHAPTER 3: A BAKHTINIAN UNDERSTANDING OF PARODY…………………64 CHAPTER 4: BURKEAN NOTIONS OF COMEDY………………………………….92 CHAPTER 5: POLITICAL PARODY IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD………118 CHAPTER 6: TRUMPIAN PARODY: A CASE STUDY OF CANDIDATE DONALD J. TRUMP…………………………………………………………………..148 WORKS CITED………………………………………………………………………..190 vii Chapter 1: Rhetorical Humor On June 16, 2015, Donald J. Trump came down the escalator at Trump Tower and made the announcement that he would be seeking the Republican nomination for the 2016 presidential election. While the announcement was deemed unorthodox in terms of the optics of the situation and the content of his announcement speech, in many ways that day was resurrected over and over, as then-candidate Trump did very little during the run-up to the 2016 presidential election that experts considered to be of the norm. This willingness to step outside the norms of expected behavior may be a reason Trump was able to identify with a number of voters who had grown tired of business-as-usual in Washington. While most candidates with his lack of political experience have never moved the polling needle, he managed to jump to the top of the polls in a relatively quick fashion and essentially never fell out of out the top spot amongst the Republican field of contenders. One thing that stands out as interesting about Trump as a presidential candidate is that he embraced his place outside of the traditional political box while simultaneously claiming that he could fit in the box when the moment called for it. During the campaign he regularly stated that he could be more presidential than the other candidates and decried the demand to act traditionally presidential as “boring as hell” (McCaskill). He even went on to say that being presidential would be easy and that what he was doing as an outsider, looking to shake up the establishment, was much more difficult work (Trump, “Pres. Trump Says”). History shows that Trump is not the first person to try and position oneself as the outsider who could play the part of insider when necessary, but he is one of the few people who has successfully used that strategy of rhetorical identification. 1 In addition to Trump’s own endorsement of his place as an outsider, another phenomenon was taking place in the media world. He was regularly critiqued and ridiculed by late night television, including comedy sketch shows such as Saturday Night Live (SNL), news comedy programs including The Daily Show, and other programs. The Simpsons’ animated comedy even mocked the infamous escalator announcement a mere three weeks after its occurrence (Moos). While these shows regularly lampooned then-candidate Trump for his unorthodox campaign, the reality is that the hosts, casts, and producers of these programs also thrived on the candidate’s words and actions, which regularly served as fodder for jokes, skits, and other comedic commentary. One of the most prominent forms of comedy employed by these outlets was the use of role-play skits that parodied the words and behaviors of the candidate and those around him. If the idea that any publicity is good publicity is true, then these entertainment programs provided a major service to Trump through their relentless parodying of his speeches, tactics, and overall campaign strategy. Many people may wonder if such constant negative exposure would undermine a candidate for political office. Thomas A. Hollihan notes that historically, candidates and their staffs have feared such image attacks from these programs (90). Robert Denton and Benjamin Voth describe the negative commentary provided by various comedic outlets regarding Sarah Palin as deleterious to John McCain’s campaign in 2008 (120). However, such parodying of Trump’s communicative behavior, especially when combined with his own self-identification as an outsider to both Washington and politics-at-large, may have been a valuable resource in allowing him to successfully construct the image as someone who could cut through politics-as- usual while simultaneously proclaiming an ability to adopt the traditional presidential persona when the moment warranted it. The fact that Donald J. Trump made appearances on television programs like The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and SNL is evidence 2 that the candidate’s campaign certainly believed there to be benefits from participating in the comedic ridicule while also condemning it. This dissertation will take up the question of how humor, as delivered by comedians on television, may have impacted the electability of Donald Trump. While it is easy to think of late- night comedy as mere entertainment, the fact that candidates and their campaigns have recognized the potential of such programs to help shape a candidate’s image demonstrates the rhetorical potential of humor to impact politics. Hollihan adds that as the electorate has increasingly become cynical of the conduct of politicians and traditional news people, appearances on these programs have become ‘a must,’ allowing a candidate to share ideas with a wide swath of potential voters (134).
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