Presidential Paper

Presidential Paper

Introduction

In their efforts to build a strong and long-lasting nation, the Founding Fathers of the

United States were very aware of the problems that could come up and ruin their ambitious

goals. Out of these, demagoguery stood out as the most sneaky threat to the democracy they

were trying to build. The Founders thought that demagoguery was a bad thing because it let

leaders with a lot of charm but no morals take advantage of people's feelings and biases to

gain power and weaken democracy institutions. This paper will talk about how the Founding

Fathers used a lot of different words, political styles, and deeds to describe demagogues. We

can use these to judge whether Trump fits that description. This study will look at Trump's

use of popular rhetoric, his relationship with the media, his view on constitutional issues, and

how he has changed the way people talk about politics. This article tries to show that the

Founders' warnings about demagoguery in American politics are still true today by

connecting historical views with current events. People will also think about how strong

democratic institutions are when faced with populist threats and how hard it is to keep a

balance between public sovereignty and constitutional government.

The Founders' Definition and Fear of Demagoguery

The Founding Fathers viewed demagoguery as a way of running a government

through use of,emotions and prejudices instead of rationality. Dwyer says that they thought it

leaders fits with this worry. Quirk says that leaders who are good at their jobs must make

"strategic choices about what to know" and have a deep understanding of policy issues

(Nelson, Chapter 5). The Founders were afraid of demagoguery because they knew that

leaders who weren't very smart might use emotional pleas instead of smart leadership. They

believed that demagoguery was the opposite of civil government and reasoned debate. The

Founders were also afraid of demagoguery because they thought it was the opposite of civil

government and reasoned debate. They feared that demagogues could get around formal

checks and balances by appealing to people's emotions. As Dwyer says, "Demagoguery is not

a form of constitutional leadership; it creates a source of authority entirely separate from that

of the Constitution."2 People saw this extra-constitutional power as a threat to their rights and

Politics 40 (1978): 716

Politics 40 (1978): 716

Characteristics of Demagoguery

Several key characteristics define demagoguery as understood by the Founders and

subsequent scholars. Most of the time, demagogues say they are fighting for the regular

people against an evil elite. They use crisis language a lot, making up threats or inflating

them to make people afraid. Di Tella and Rotemberg say that demagogues often use "crisis

psychology" to "create a crisis, 'define the cause of the crisis as a simple abstract or concrete

evil, and then 'provide a new escape from the crisis, 'a new faith, a new belief,'" with himself

as the leader.4 The people who are demagogues also like to use simple, emotional words and

and avoid talking about complicated policy issues. They often make themselves the most

important problem in politics. Dwyer says, "Demagogues usually stay away from big policy

issues that aren't directly linked to social unhappiness and the establishment."7 If there isn't

enough content, demagogues make up characters that are bigger than life and focus their

political actions on themselves instead of the problems, making themselves the issues. This

focus on personalities in politics helps demagogues keep their supporters even when the

a simple model of demand for incompetence as insurance against elite betrayal." Journal of Comparative

Politics 40 (1978): 716.

media or other leaders criticize them. This method is shown to work especially well in today's

media, where personalities and conflicts often determine what is covered.8

Trump as a Demagogue

Many of Donald Trump's political rhetoric and style are similar to what the Founders

and other experts recognized regarding demagoguery. He used fear and anger to win the

election and during his presidency, especially when talking about immigrants and terrorists.9

A lot of Trump's campaign speeches and election success were built on playing on people's

fears and rage, as Dwyer points out. Trump stirred up these feelings where they weren't

always said that he is fighting for "the people" against corrupt leaders, which is a standard

demagogic theme. This can be evidences as he often used the phrase, "we are transferring

power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the people" even in his inaugural

speech.12 This attack on the establishment is similar to what past demagogues did by

portraying their opponent as an enemy of the people and friend of the wealthy while

presenting himself as "one of the people."13 This is similar to how Trump talks about things

13 Di Tella, Rafael, and Julio J. Rotemberg. "Populism and the return of the “paranoid style”: Some evidence and

a simple model of demand for incompetence as insurance against elite betrayal." Journal of Comparative

Economics 46, no. 4 (2018): 988-1005.

by using simple, emotional words and not going into details about his policies. Because he

likes to make personal attacks and comments that stir up trouble, he has become the center of

unusual "war on the media" and how he uses social media, especially Twitter, to avoid

traditional media outlets and talk directly to his followers, giving his demagogic style more

background.16 By using this approach, Trump can keep up his hateful rhetoric even when the

media criticizes it.

understanding of how people function and how fragile democracy systems can be. They knew

that demagogues were a special kind of threat because they used democratic freedoms like

free speech, gathering, and the press to weaken the pillars of democratic government. The

founders were afraid that demagogues would put personal gain ahead of the common good,

play on people's baser feelings instead of logic, and upset the delicate balance of powers that

they had worked so hard to create. If you use these standards to look at Donald Trump, there

are good reasons to call him a populist in the same way that the Founders did. It's been

Trump's style in politics to use emotional calls that often put feelings ahead of facts, to tell a

15 Dwyer, Zachary. "The Founding Nightmare Realized: Demagoguery, Fascism, And Donald Trump." Journal of

Politics 40 (1978): 716.

16 Nelson, Michael. “The presidency and the political system, Michael Nelsen,” 12th ed, 2020.

consistent story of "us versus them" that splits instead of unites, and to personalize political

power in ways that go against what institutions normally do. He is hostile toward the media,

argument shows. People of all political views, including those who don't support Trump,

should remember what the Founding Fathers said about how demagoguery can threaten

democracy and individual freedom. The spread of nationalist groups around the world, the

effect of social media on political speech, and the growing division among voters all make it

easy for demagogues to make their cases. Going forward, it is very important for people,

academics, and political leaders to stay alert to demagoguery methods, no matter what side of

the political spectrum they come from. The Founders warned us about these threats and gave

us ways to fight them, such as a strong system of checks and balances, defense of individual

rights, and support for political education. We can help make sure that the republic they

envisioned continues to thrive in the face of modern challenges by learning from these

References

Di Tella, Rafael, and Julio J. Rotemberg. "Populism and the return of the “paranoid style”:

Some evidence and a simple model of demand for incompetence as insurance against

elite betrayal." Journal of Comparative Economics 46, no. 4 (2018): 988-1005.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147596718300374.

Dwyer, Zachary. "The Founding Nightmare Realized: Demagoguery, Fascism, And Donald

Trump." Journal of Politics 40 (1978): 716.

Mollan, S., & Geesin, B. (2020). Donald Trump and Trumpism: Leadership, ideology and

narrative of the business executive turned politician. Organization, 27(3), 405-418.

https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/37694464/Geesin_Mollan_Trump

_and_Trumpism_FINAL.pdf.