CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF DISCURSIVE STRATEGIES OPERATED IN DONALD TRUMP’S WARSAW SPEECH (2017)

Abstract

This study conducts a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of President Donald Trump’s 2017 Warsaw speech, employing Teun A. van Dijk’s (1998) theoretical framework to examine the discursive strategies used to construct in-group legitimacy and out-group delegitimization within political discourse. This study employs a qualitative research design, using purposive sampling to select Donald Trump’s Warsaw speech. The findings reveal the use of discursive strategies such as topicalization, number game, polarisation, illustration/example, victimisation, lexicalization, populism, metaphor, modality, evidentiality and authority, comparison, national self-glorification, and presupposition. These strategies serve to reinforce positive self-presentation of the in-group (the West, Poland, and the United States) while simultaneously challenging the legitimacy of various out-groups. The study demonstrates how Trump’s rhetoric draws on historical references, shared values, and collective memory to foster unity, resilience, and moral superiority, thereby shaping audience perceptions and advancing specific political narratives. The research contributes to the understanding of contemporary political discourse by highlighting the role of language in constructing social identities and power relations.