The Hyperreal Nature of the Trump Administration's Post-Truth Rhetoric
Date of Award
2020
Degree Name
M.A. in English
Department
Department of English
Advisor/Chair
Advisor: Margaret Strain
Abstract
This paper looks at the rhetoric of the Trump administration using the scholarship of Jean Baudrillard as a theoretical lens. Scholars have identified the current era as a time of "post-truth," in which truth has been devalued. The following study examines the connections between instances by the Trump administration that exemplify post-truth rhetoric and Jean Baudrillard's concept of a hyperreality. While rhetorical scholars have disparate definitions of "post-truth" and have identified various sources of the phenomenon, I demonstrate that Baudrillard's theories regarding simulation provide a conceptual framework that better explains the functionality and origins of post-truth. The prevalence of post-truth rhetoric is problematic because it sows distrust in institutions and ideals that are foundational to a functioning democracy. Post-truth rhetoric relies on strategies that are utilized by dictators in pseudo-democracies such as Russia and Hungary to keep the populace uninformed and complacent. Understanding how post-truth rhetoric functions is necessary to counteract its influence.
Keywords
Rhetoric, Post-Truth, Post-Modernism, Baudrillard, Trump
Rights Statement
Copyright © 2020, author
Recommended Citation
Sharp, Alexander V., "The Hyperreal Nature of the Trump Administration's Post-Truth Rhetoric" (2020). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 6907.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/graduate_theses/6907
