COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES OF SELF-BRANDING IN THE MODERN PRESIDENTIAL DISCOURSE OF THE USA BASED ON THE MATERIAL OF DONALD TRUMP’S SPEECHES

Abstract

The article explores self-branding communication strategies in contemporary U.S. presidential discourse, drawing on Donald Trump’s speeches across genres (campaign announcement, inaugural addresses, and congressional address). The study integrates political branding theory (public “impression/image” shaped by communication and visuals), critical discourse analysis, framing, and multimodal discourse analysis. Self-branding is conceptualized as a legitimacy- and identity-building practice, realized through macro-frames (crisis → rescue; people → elite), stylistic devices (repetition, anaphora, hyperbole, parallelism), and explicit “brand talk” (metadiscourse). The findings argue that Trump’s self-branding relies on (1) the “deal-maker/winner” persona; (2) populist identification via inclusive we and “us vs. them” polarization; (3) providential legitimation (religious References); (4) rhythmic sloganization that increases memorability and media circulation. Implications concern the need to study self-branding as a multimodal ensemble (text + voice/prosody + gesture + staging) (Lees-Marshment, 2019).