CORPUS-BASED ANALYSIS OF CONFLICT LANGUAGE IN DONALD TRUMP’S SPEECHES (2015–25): MILITARY, ECONOMIC AND IDEOLOGICAL DOMAINS

Abstract

The paper explores Donald Trump's conflict-related rhetoric from 2015-2025, focusing on his adversarial language towards China, Iran, and Iraq. It classifies conflict discourse into military, economic, and ideological domains, highlighting the reformation of diplomacy and the need for further examination. Employing corpus linguistics and Sketch Engine software, the research analyzes a 43,000-word corpus of Trump’s speeches—including campaign rallies, press conferences, and international addresses—to identify linguistic patterns, lexical choices, and rhetorical strategies. The study is grounded in the perspectives of political communication, focusing on how language shapes ideology and power. It investigates how rhetorical strategies in political discourse can reform diplomatic practices and public perceptions of international relations. Key findings indicate that Trump’s geopolitical speech was militaristic, presenting international situations as victimization and simplifying economic conflicts as trade wars. His nationalist discourse discredited opponents, and collocations such as “nuclear threat” normalized aggression as part of everyday life. The research traces Trump’s rhetorical changes over time, highlighting the transformation of diplomatic language and its influence on global perceptions.