The outsider on the inside: Donald Trump’s Twitter activity and the rhetoric of separation from Washington culture

ABSTRACT

This project examines how Donald Trump has used Twitter to separate himself rhetorically from the traditional Washington elite and maintain his outsider status while serving as president. I divide Trump’s tweets into four primary categories: “Power”, “Powerless,” “Party,” and “Partyless” tweets. “Power” tweets consist of messages in which Trump either took action or signaled his authority as head of the executive branch, while “Powerless” tweets consist of messages in which Trump spoke with frustration about issues under the purview of the executive branch that the president has the power to act upon but he did not act. “Party” tweets consist of messages in which Trump acknowledged his association with the Republican Party, while “Partyless” tweets consist of messages in which Trump spoke generically about the Republican Party as if he were not a member, framing himself as an independent figure.