Faculty of Arts and Philosophy Ward Boone Johannes Huysmans Why Donald Might Tr(i)ump(h) Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in the Multilingual Business Communication. Academic year 2015-2016 Supervisor: Olaf Du Pont Department of Linguistics Faculty of Arts and Philosophy Ward Boone Johannes Huysmans Why Donald Might Tr(i)ump(h) Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in the Multilingual Business Communication. Academic year 2015-2016 Supervisor: Olaf Du Pont Department of Linguistics Permission We declare that others are allowed to consult and/or reproduce this thesis, if cited. Ward Boone and Johannes Huysmans Acknowledgements First of all, we would like to thank both our thesis supervisor Olaf Du Pont and Multilingual Business Communication coordinator Tom Bruyer. Olaf took into account the fact that this research was conducted during an internship and allowed us to work at our own pace. When needed and shortly before the final deadline, he was still prepared to provide some useful feedback and pointed-out important nuances. The gratitude for Tom is insignificant compared to the effort he puts into the coordination and organization of this master program throughout almost the entire year. Seriously, we do not know where to begin. Secondly, Porter Novelli as a part of the research was done there. Jeroen for showing us to find joy in the trivial things in life, Lies for numerous pleasant carpool rides that significantly softened the blow of those horrible Monday blues and endless traffic jams. And of course, Simon, the commissioner of our dreams, who daily trained our mind and teaching us real music. Thirdly, we express our very profound gratitude for our (real) friends (how many of us?), parents, brothers and sisters as they provided unconditional support during both our internship and the creation of this research paper. A special mention goes out to both mother and daughter from the Huysmans household, Hildegarde Goubert and Eva Huysmans, for proofreading our writings and organizing the general lay-out. Little Wannes Gernaert should also not be forgotten, as he continuously reminded us to enjoy the simple things in life. Last but not least, we would like thank each other for a very pleasant, efficient and problem-free collaboration. This research paper was partially established during a joint internship of three months at Porter Novelli Brussels which consolidated our friendship and resulted into an unforgettable adventure. I Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................. I List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................... IV Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... V 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Research Question .......................................................................................................................... 3 3. Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................................... 4 3.1. L. Aaker – Dimensions of Brand Personality ............................................................................ 4 3.2. J. Haidt – The Righteous Mind ................................................................................................. 7 3.3. J. Haidt – When and Why Nationalism Beats Globalism ......................................................... 8 3.4. M.D. Conover, et al. – Political Polarization on Twitter .......................................................... 9 3.5. S. Hong & S. Hyoung Kim – Political polarization on twitter: Implications for the use of social media in digital governments ................................................................................................. 10 4. Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 11 5. The American Presidential Electoral System ................................................................................ 14 5.1 When is the election due? ..................................................................................................... 14 5.2 What does each party, more or less, stand for? ................................................................... 14 5.3 Whom are the people to choose from? ................................................................................ 14 5.4 How did Clinton and Trump become chosen? ...................................................................... 15 5.5 When does someone get elected? ........................................................................................ 15 6. The Big Five ................................................................................................................................... 16 6.1 Excitement ............................................................................................................................. 16 6.1.1 Buchanan County: Trump’s Exiting Brand In a Nutshell ................................................ 16 6.1.2 Loud Trump Gives Silent Majority a Voice .................................................................... 18 6.1.3 Demographics of Silent Majority ................................................................................... 19 6.1.4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 21 6.2 Competence .......................................................................................................................... 22 6.2.1 The Apprentice Sets the Scene ...................................................................................... 22 6.2.2 Functional Vanity ........................................................................................................... 23 6.2.3 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 24 6.3 Sophistication ........................................................................................................................ 25 6.3.1 Aiming at Voter’s Heart, Not Their Mind, Results in Perfect Hit ................................... 28 6.3.2 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 29 6.4 Ruggedness ............................................................................................................................ 30 II 6.4.1 Time to Get Tough ......................................................................................................... 30 6.4.2 Contagious Toughness ................................................................................................... 32 6.4.3 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 34 6.5 Sincerity ................................................................................................................................. 35 6.5.1 Facts Do Not Matter ...................................................................................................... 35 6.5.2 Authoritative Trump Offers What Crowd Seeks ............................................................ 37 6.5.3 History Is on Trump’s Side ............................................................................................. 38 6.5.4 Sincere Fascist?.............................................................................................................. 39 6.5.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 40 7. Short strategic shift after clinching presumptive Republican nomination ................................... 41 7.1 Let Trump Be Trump .............................................................................................................. 41 7.2 Post Lewandowski Shift? ....................................................................................................... 42 7.3 Old Habits Die Hard ............................................................................................................... 44 7.4 #TrumpPence16 .................................................................................................................... 46 7.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 48 8. Donald Remarkably Resembles Ronald ........................................................................................ 49 8.1 Make America Great Again ................................................................................................... 49 8.2 Candidate From Disneyland .................................................................................................. 50 8.3 Controversy ........................................................................................................................... 51 8.4 Moderate Right Wingers? ....................................................................................................