Date of Award
10-25-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Communication Studies, MA
First Advisor
Scott Anderson
Committee Members
Marceline Hayes; Po-Lin Pan
Call Number
LD 251 .A566t 2022 R54
Abstract
The focus of this thesis is to understand the ways in which Donald Trump perpetuated widespread claims of election fraud throughout the 2020 election. I use Fantasy Theme Analysis to examine connections between the rhetorical strategies of #StopTheSteal and the speech Trump gave on January 6, 2021. I argue that Trump facilitated the development and evolution of a shared rhetorical vision of a democracy under attack by perpetuating the fantasy themes of a biased media and an imminent unlawful transfer of power. I argue that the rhetorical strategies developed by #StopTheSteal were evoked during Trump’s speech at The Ellipse, which may have contributed to the insurrection. Political leaders have the responsibility to influence how things are remembered in American history. The fantasy themes perpetuated by Trump established a tone of action, which may have constructed a foundation for violence to occur.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Riggins, Guy, "From #Stopthesteal to an Insurrection: A Fantasy Theme Analysis of the Discourse Surrounding the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election" (2022). Student Theses and Dissertations. 233.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/233
Included in
American Politics Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Rhetoric and Composition Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons
