A Tremendous Job

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Trump’s Statements on Covid-19

A research paper by Chloe Donnelly and Lauren Holt

Introduction

  In the time of the Coronavirus pandemic, the communication President Trump had with citizens has become a source of interest and inquiry around the world. In the midst of a social and economic crisis unmatched for at least the past hundred years, the president spoke to the public at length nearly every day. Throughout the pandemic this communication saw shifts in tone and rhetorical strategy, a key part of which occurred between late February when Trump was still on the campaign trail, and mid-April, when numbers of infected patients and the public’s demand for answers from the federal government ballooned drastically. This paper aims to deconstruct the moral and political ideology that informs Trump’s rhetorical choices, both conscious and unconscious, and how the President attempts to save face in order to bolster his image.

The relationship between moral and political ideology has been written about at length by George Lakoff and other researchers in the field of Cognitive Linguistics. Their main contention is that both liberals and conservatives conceptualize the nation as a “family,” and project their concept of the correct “family-based morality” into national policy (Lakoff, 1996, p.13). These metaphorical understandings, like all conceptual metaphors, are “unconscious, and automatic,” and comprise the sets of assumptions that inform each faction’s perspective on which issues are important, and how the government should interact with its people (p. 13). 

This frame of thinking explains why social services, rehabilitation, and community building reside at the forefront of liberal policy. This conceptual model will be discussed further in a later section of the paper -where we will argue that the Nurturant Parent Model has at times informed Trump’s rhetoric- but our greater focus at this juncture is the oppositional/conservative? stance that our president most frequently aligns himself with: the “Strict Father.” 

The Strict Father paradigm is inspired by the traditional “nuclear family” ideal, in which the father has both “primary responsibility for supporting and protecting the family,” and primary authority over the family as a whole (p. 66). Childrens’ obedience to this authority then, is regarded as both a measure that ensures their own safety, and a character-building act; subsequently, it is assumed that “the exercise of authority is itself moral,” as it functions to teach children the self-discipline that will allow them to survive, and importantly compete, in a hostile world (p. 66 - 67). The primary conceptual foci of this model include MORAL STRENGTH, MORAL AUTHORITY, and RETRIBUTION. It follows then, that conservative policy and indeed Trump’s rhetoric often focus on a religious slant of MORAL STRENGTH, in which American people, his proverbial children, must learn to be “self-disciplined.” In this model, moral strength is considered the necessary attribute to, for example, overcome economic hardship. A belief in radical self-reliance leads to the assumption that people should be able to overcome financial disparities without governmental assistance, and without any consideration of “social forces or social class” on the part of the government (p. 77). 

Conflating a “folk theory of a natural order” with Moral Authority yields an understanding of a natural Moral Order, or a hierarchy of dominance. In this model:

“God has moral authority over people.

People have moral authority over nature (animals, plants, and natural objects).

Adults have moral authority over children.

Men have moral authority over women” (p. 81).

Based on this model, the father -or in the case of the United States, the president- has authority over a nation’s people that is total, as Trump himself famously proclaimed in an April 13th press briefing (Meagan Flynn 2020). While this contention is factually false based on the US Constitution’s 10th Amendment which gives states ‘police powers’ to regulate behavior during a public health crisis, (Axios 2020, para. 2), this conflation of conceptual assumption and reality is rife throughout Trump’s speeches. It is clear throughout each speech that he feels entitled to total authority and total obedience from citizens, governors, local political leaders, and the media, and he becomes noticeably incensed and uncooperative whenever his actions are questioned. It was our aim in this paper to analyze the rhetoric Trump used to uphold his Strict Father image, even in the face of defiance from his proverbial children.

Methods

The goal of our analyses was to pinpoint the particular face-saving or facework methods Trump used to repair and uphold his Strict Father image during the crucial weeks when the coronavirus began to surge across the United States. In gathering our data, we selected key speeches delivered by President Trump between the dates of February 28th and April 13th, 2020.  These speeches, and particular moments within them, were targeted as useful areas for analysis based on their mention in Business Insider’s March 19th video, “6 Times Trump Contradicted Public Officials About the Coronavirus,” and CBS News’s April 3rd article, “A Timeline of What Trump Has Said on Coronavirus” -two media resources that were aligned with our research question.  A few speeches were selected based on their concurrence with key events in the pandemic as reported by CNN, namely February 29th’s announcement of the first COVID-related death in the United States and March 17th’s briefing following the historic San Francisco Bay Area Shelter-In-Place order. All told, the speeches we referenced encompass a Trump campaign rally, a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), and five Coronavirus press briefings. The videos for each speech were found posted on either The Washington Post’s Youtube channel, or CSPAN’s website. Each video was evaluated for gist before the most relevant clips were selected and transcribed, resulting in a total of over twenty minutes of transcription overall.  The conventions used for transcription draw from the Linguistics Department at King’s College London’s Critical Discourse Analysis conventions; the key is included for reference below. 

The Strict Father’s Protection: It’s Us vs. Them

Though the Strict Father requires total obedience, what he offers in return are children who are self-reliant, and in turn, strong enough to resist the moral evil that exists in the world (Lakoff 1996, p. 73). Indeed, it is a key entailment of the Strict Father’s model of MORAL STRENGTH that “the world is divided into good and evil,” and it becomes the role of the Strict Father to identify evil and fight it “ruthlessly,” breaking the world into two solid camps of “Us” and “Them” (Lakoff 1996, pp. 73-74). Insights from Discourse Analysis inform us that such divisiveness is a common political tactic. As Robert McClay (2017) relates, “ideological political discourse is generally organized in terms of positive self-representation and negative other-representation,” bolstering the interests and import of the target group (p. 7). 

Trump makes use of various rhetorical strategies to highlight who he considers part of the “us,” and who is part of “them”; a number of these can be described by certain components of Van Leeuwen’s (2008) Social Network of Actors. This socio-semantic lens takes after Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics and its emphasis on “the meanings of language in use in the textual processes of social life” (Eggins 2004, p. 2). According to Van Leeuwen, a narrative can be shaped by a strategic inclusion or exclusion of its relevant social actors. When social actors are included in a narrative, they are represented “as participating in their actions” (McClay 2017, p. 12). Exclusion by contrast, can occur in a few different iterations. Actors can be backgrounded, meaning they are “separated from their actions” but linked to them elsewhere in the discourse. Actors can be suppressed, in which they are mentioned but divorced from their actions entirely, or they can be completely excluded, in which they are not mentioned at all (McClay 2017, p.12). 

Another technique used to characterize the “us” and the “them” is one Van Leeuwen (2008) calls substitution, in which “semiotic elements replace elements of actual social practice, and add elements of meaning to the text” (p. 15). There are several substitution techniques that Trump frequently makes use of.  Association or dissociation shape an audience’s perception of a social actor based on their relation to another actor or action (Van Leeuwen 2008, pp. 38-39). Genericization or specification allocate a given role by either reducing an actor to a member of a social group (usually to distance them from audience members), or hyper-focusing on one member of a group (humanizing them and bringing them closer to audience members). Similarly, nomination and categorization allow actors to be either distinguished by their “unique identity,” or reductively categorized based on the identities and functions they share with others (2017, p. 14). Finally, appraisement assigns social actors an evaluation of “good or bad, effective or ineffective,” and is often realized through lexical choice (p. 14). Van Leeuwen’s model specifies other techniques as well, but the given terms are those most relevant to the present study.

Trump applies the semantic strategies outlined above to otherize Democrats, the media, foriegn powers, and anyone who questions his leadership. These techniques all feature prominently in his talks of the coronavirus, but he has employed them since the start of his political career. His addresses to the nation in the time of the coronavirus are in many ways consistent with his 2016 political campaign: he presents himself as the strong, Strict Father, who is nonetheless of the people and ready to give voice to them, while othering detractors of the conservative ideology. He plays up the strength and moral purity of the “us,” while genericizing and defaming the “them.” In both the 2016 campaign season and the era of worldwide pandemic, Trump realizes this conceptual divide by obsessing over a physical one: the border.

Throughout his 2016 campaign, the mantra “build the wall” served as a rallying cry for Trump and his supporters, who championed (and continue to champion) the construction of a physical wall along the US border with Mexico (Davis & Baker 2019). Political theorists like UC Berkeley’s Wendy Brown have argued that the wall’s true power has always been more symbolic than corporeal (Tharoor 2019).  In the election, it served as an “ultranationalist” anti-immigration platform designed to appeal to a subset of working-class American voters faced with “rising housing and health-care costs [and] widening social inequity.”  In the time of the coronavirus, the mantra has morphed into a bellowing, “BORDER SECURITY is also (1.0) health (.) security,” mentioned in the same breath as praise for the wall at Trump’s campaign rally on February 28th (lines 121-122), and repeated verbatim at the Conservative Political Action Conference on the 29th (lines 12-13). The relationship between the construction of the wall and the health of the American people is at the heart of the refrain Trump turns to any time his actions or lack of action around the coronavirus is questioned.

In every address we evaluated, Trump mentioned four core concepts at least once: (i) China was the origin of the virus, (ii) he closed the border to China, (iii) his decision to do so was opposed by some people (notably Democrats), (iv) but now it is being praised. A version of these words appears in the specific clips we transcribed for 2/28 (lines 73-86), 2/29 (lines 12-33), 3/17 (lines 58-77), 3/25 (lines 20-25), and 4/18 (lines 53-66). With the repetition of these ideas, Trump reinforces that he and the people that did not question his decisions are the “us” -(the heroes) -and that foreign countries and the Democrats are part of the “them” -(the enemy).

Two variations on this narrative are evidenced in the contrast between Trump’s speeches on February 28th and 29th. While he did praise his decision to close the border to China on the 28th, the dominant strategy seemed to be comparing the virus to the flu and concurrently blaming the Democrats and the media for “politicizing” the pandemic (line 7). This genericization and association serve the dual purpose of allowing Trump to recontextualize Democrats as a threat in the “them” category, while minimizing the threat of the virus itself (Van Leeuwen 2008, pp. 38-39). He assures the crowd that the common flu is a disease from which “thirty-five thousand people (.) on average die (.) each year” (line 41) unlike the coronavirus, from which “so far (.5) we have lost (.5) nobody” (line 47). The semantic choice to use the pronoun “we,” indicates his status as a voice for the public and the overall strength and unification of the “us” category (McClay 2017, p. 20), while the verb “lost” evokes one of the most common and functionally automated conceptual metaphors: LIFE IS WAR.  After uttering this line, Trump gazed proudly into a sea of supporters as they erupted in thunderous applause.  The Strict Father, imagining himself a military captain, was shielding his children from the “other.”

Sadly, by the time he took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference the following night on February 29th, Trump could no longer pretend that protection from the virus was total. He did not address the first COVID-19 related death directly in this speech, but he did adjust his rhetorical strategy to omit the phrase “we’ve lost nobody,” along with any mention of the flu or exploitation by Democrats. Instead, he reconfigured the “them” category by emphasizing that the virus had begun in China. This association allows him to put a face on an otherwise “invisible enemy” (Reuters 2020), and disassociate himself and his administration from the virus/pandemic. 

The main emphasis in this instance, however, is on Trump’s own personal competence. He assures the audience that he “took a LOT OF HEAT, even from [his] own people” (line 29), in spite of the claims of “extreme fringe-ists” who “called us racists” (line 30). So Trump has solidified himself as a staunch protector who is willing to protect the family at all costs, even in the face of criticism. But the lexical shift from “I” to “us” is interesting in this context, a subtle genericization that helps to construct the “us” category. It is unclear in this instance whether he is referring to members of his administration who supported his decision to close the border, or to the majority of the American populace, minus the “extreme fringe-ists.” Finally, he states that his bold decision to close the border to China had nonetheless received a slew of positive praise, or, to use his wording, “very good grades” (line 26). 

When confronted with the topic of the virus, Trump devotes a significant amount of energy to this type of self-congratulation, as well as an overall bolstering of the “us” category. This is accomplished with both his own positive appraisement and the association of himself with experts.  In the excerpt from February 28th presented below, Trump confidently declared that he and his administration were abundantly prepared for the coronavirus -(in a word, “totally ready”) (line 71). The falseness of this claim notwithstanding, this is an interesting statement in the associations it implies. In claiming his administration’s absolute readiness to face the virus, Trump inherently places himself on the level of either a political or public health expert who understands what that readiness entails--the “us” category is comprised of “the best of the world” (line 55), and he is part of it.

February 28th

67. we are preparing for the worst, my administration (.)

68. has taken (.) 

69. to prevent the spread of this illness in the united states. 

70. crowd: ((cheer))

71. Trump: we are ready (.) we are ready (.5) totally ready. (..) 

72. crowd: ((cheer))

February 29th

51. we have the greatest health care professionals in the world, 

52. a:nd if we can help the Iranians with this problem 

53. we are certainly willing to do so, we would love to be able to help them,(.) 54. a::nd all they have to do is ask. we will have (.) 

55. great professionals over there (.) we have the best of the world. (3.0) 

56. crowd: ((applause))

In his February 29th speech the association between Trump and the “experts” is even more overt. Trump says “we have the greatest health-care professionals in the world” in the same breath as “we can help the Iranians with this problem.”  Here, not only is Trump’s name mentioned alongside the only people who are able to personally support those afflicted by the virus, he further bolsters the “us” category by providing evidence of his administration’s munificence. We are willing to help “them,” he insinuates, if they are willing to ask for it. This final clause “if they are willing to ask for it” alludes to there being more to the story that Trump is suppressing here--specifically why he has reason to believe they might not be willing to ask for it. Iran would in fact refuse the United States’ official offer for humanitarian aid in early March, saying that “if the [US] wanted to help, they would lift the sanctions against Iran” (Coleman, 2020). When Trump backed out of the 2015 Iranian Nuclear Deal and issued sanctions against the country, it had devastating effects on Iran’s economy and prepared both countries for potential military mobilization (2020). Trump alludes to the tense state of political relations between the two countries with the clause “if they are willing to ask” while simultaneously disassociating himself from any responsibility he might have for their resistance to accepting help. This strategy allows him to characterize the “us” in the best possible light, and the “them” merely as people hesitant to accept his generosity.

Independence in Strict Father Morality

Overbearing though Lakoff’s Strict Father may seem, the ultimate goal of such fierce control and protection is that children learn how to exist with full independence in adulthood.  Within Strict Father Morality, it is immoral for an adult to rely on the support of others, including that of the government (Lakoff 1996, p. 95).  An adult whose upbringing was effective is fully self-sufficient within this model; thus, adult independence is evidence of a strong moral character, while adult dependence is perceived as immoral (Lakoff 1996 p. 66)  

When delivering press briefings throughout the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Donald Trump occasionally emphasized his independence by drawing attention to his lack of support as the nation’s leader.  For instance, on March 17th, in addressing a reporter’s question about bipartisanship, Trump responds as follows:

79. if theyre (the Democrats) not gonna play fair (.5) because you

80. know they have the media on their side. i dont. (.5) i just have me. 

Shortly thereafter, Trump insists that he would be an exceptional bipartisan if the Democrats started to play more fairly.  

Initially, Trump’s tone of voice, coupled with his use of the word “fair” and the expression “have somebody on one’s side,” bring to mind a child on a playground, whining about their lack of support and appealing for pity.  If analyzed through the lens of Strict Father Morality, however -(wherein adults who are able to thrive without any external support are seen as exceptionally moral)- Trump’s utterance “i just have me” (line 80) could be interpreted as a reminder to his audience of his adult independence, or his ability to do his job without relying on anyone else.  

A similar example occurs on March 25th, as presented below: 

20. Trump: but we're the ones that gave the great response and we're the ones that kept

21. China OUTTA HERE (.5) and if I didn't do it you'd have THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS 

22. of people died (.) would have died (.5) that are now living and happy. (.) if I didn't do that

23. early (.5) call on China and nobody wanted that to happen. (.5) everybody thought it was

24. a (.5) just unnecessary to do it and if we didn't do that thousands and thousands of

25. people would have died (.) more than what's happened.

  Though Trump commences and closes this rant with the pronoun “We” -(meaning his Republican administration)- he predominantly uses the pronoun “I.”  This switch in pronouns sends the message that he makes significant political decisions entirely on his own, a message that very much aligns with the value placed on independence within Strict Father Morality.  Even without his administration, Trump implies, he would have made the right decision and protected his nation -(or family)- against the Chinese people -(the outside threat). 

  Within the model of Strict Father Morality, the degree of independence an adult has achieved is measured, in part, by the strength of their Moral Self-Interest (Lakoff 1996, pp. 94-96). According to Lakoff (1996), independence necessitates financial self-sufficiency (pp. 94-96).  The pursuit of wealth is therefore moral, because greater wealth allows for greater independence.  For this reason, American conservatives who perceive morality through the model of the Strict Father consider the wealthy to be more morally responsible adults (Lakoff 1996, p. 94). 

Though Trump does not address his own wealth in the briefings transcribed for this analysis, he continually discusses the economy, particularly when talking about the tragedy of human death.  This conflation is especially evident in the following section of the April 10th press briefing:

23. 75 could be 55 (.5) thousands of people have died. theres nothing happy about it jim.

24. this is sad talk. (small interruption from audience). this is the saddest -these are the

25. saddest (.5) these are the saddest news conferences that ive ever had. (.5) i dont like

26. doing them you know why? because im talking about death. (.5) I'm talking about taking

27. the greatest economy ever created we had the greatest numbers weve ever had in

28. almost every aspect of (.) of economics (.) from employment to companies to -look at

29. the airlines they were having the best year now all of a sudden we have to save them.

Here, Trump abruptly shifts from lamenting the death of many thousands of people to lamenting the death of the economy.  This shift arguably reveals the strong conceptual association Trump holds between the value of human beings and their ability to accrue wealth -(or their ability to achieve a high degree of Moral Self-interest).  Within this conceptual framework, the death of people -(or their inability to work due to unpreventable circumstances)- results in the death of the economy because the economy’s strength is representative of the Moral Self-interest of its citizens.  Put another way, the economy does not merely exist because of the people who participate in it.  It is the people who participate in it; it is a reflection of their commendable Moral Self-interest.  As the Strict Father of the nation, Trump thereby conceives of both the death of the American people and their inability to work as a great tragedy, because the virus is preventing them from pursuing their Moral Self-interest.  We can see this perception again in April 10th’s press briefing, when Trump is asked to send a message to the many Americans filing for unemployment. 

5. Trump: uh number one I love em ↑ number two were working really hard ↑ it wasnt their

6. fault (.) what happened ↑ sometimes they don't do a good job and they lose their job (.)

7. thats one thing. this is a case where we take the strongest economy in the history of the

8. world which is what we had... 

Trump commences the message above by expressing his love for these individuals.  He also points out that their economic downfall is not their fault.  They are not unemployed because they lacked independence or Moral Self-interest, but rather because their ability to pursue their Self-interest was taken away from them.  They are thereby deserving of love and support, while people who become unemployed because “they don’t do a good job” (line 6) are not.  

Moral Accounting in Strict Father Morality

Another aspect of Lakoff’s Strict Father model that is evident in Donald Trump’s coronavirus press briefings is the conceptual model of Moral Accounting.  Like traditional accounting, Moral Accounting relies upon a system of Debits and Credits.  If the books are to remain balanced, Debits and Credits must always be equal (Lakoff 1996 pp. 45-54).  Thus, if a moral -(or good)- deed is performed, the person is owed a moral deed in return.  Similarly, if an immoral -(or bad)- deed is performed, the books cannot be balanced until that person is punished (Lakoff 1996 pp. 45-54).

Donald Trump’s near-constant focus on his decision to close the US Borders to China seems to evoke his Strict Father perception of Moral Accounting.  In every press briefing analyzed for this paper -(and numerous times throughout each)- the President emphatically mentions the border closure, noting the wisdom and foresight of this “unprecedented” move and how beneficial the closure has been to the American people (see March 17th, lines 71-77; March 25th, 20-25, amongst others).  One clear implication of Trump’s repeated reference to this decision is that he deserves credit for his actions.  Understood through Lakoff’s model of conservative Moral Accounting, Trump appears to believe that he should be rewarded for his moral deed, perhaps through more gratitude, trust, or respect from the liberal media.  Until the goodness of his decision to close the country to China is matched by the credit he receives for it, he will likely remind the American people and any critical media outlet that the moral books remain out of balance.   

How Donald Trump Uses Rise Tones To Preserve His Strict Father Image

In analyzing Donald Trump’s coronavirus press briefings between the months of February and April, we observed that the President’s voice would occasionally rise at the end of statements, not questions -a sociolinguistic phenomenon known as uptalk or rise tones (Brazil 1985, as cited by Liberman 2005, 2008). Sometimes, Trump’s rise tones would occur just once in a particular section of his speech, as in the examples from February 28th and March 17th below:

Example 1: February 28th, 2020

40. that I heard of recently and I was shocked to hear it< 

41. thirty-five thousand people (.) on average die (.) each year from the ↑ flu

42. did anyone know that? thirty-five thousand.

Example 2: March 17th, 2020

75. been done. i know that when i made the decision to close it to china people told me thats

76. never been done before but it was a great decision ↑ (.5) uh (.) we make good decisions.

On other occasions, Trump’s voice would rise at the end of a series of successive, stacatto-like statements, as revealed by the two excerpts from April 10th below:

Example 3: April 10th, 2020

5. Trump: uh number one I love em ↑ number two were working really hard ↑ it wasnt their

6. fault (.) what happened ↑ sometimes they don't do a good job and they lose their job (.)

37. saying that weve done an incredible job. you just read off these no no no (.) well (.) we

38. have ventilators ↑ we have equipment ↑ we have beds ↑ how about beds? (.) I mean (.)

On an intuitive level, we interpreted Trump’s rise tones in the earlier press briefings (February 28th and March 17th) as indicative of uncertainty.  Since rising intonation is typically associated with questions, a statement that ends with a rise tone can suggest a lack of confidence on the part of the speaker, or an indirect request for affirmation (Liberman 2008).  Indeed, when speaking of the flu on February 28th, Trump appears to use the rise tone to suggest his continued disbelief over the flu’s deadliness, almost as if he were asking the question “Can you believe it?” Apparently certain that most people will also be surprised by the statistics he cites, he expresses his disbelief through the rise tone quite openly, without any evident concern over how this will threaten his face.  

Though also suggestive of uncertainty, March 17th’s rise tone is somewhat different in that it indicates less self-confidence on the part of the President.  Despite Trump’s repeated insistence that his decision to close the borders to China was a “great” one,” the President makes this statement on March 17th with a clear rise tone, soonafter followed by an uncertain “uh” (line 76).  The combination of this rise tone and the subsequent pause seem to suggest lingering doubt or a lack of self-confidence on the part of the President.  Compared to the rise tone one February 28th, that of March 17th arguably reveals Trump’s concern that his face may soon be threatened.  

As the pandemic progresses, however, Trump’s rise tones become less uncertain and more combative, or self-defensive, in nature.  Quite notably, in both examples from April 10th presented above, the rise tones occur when Trump is responding to a reporter.  In the case of lines 37-38, the reporter has scarcely managed to begin his question than the President cuts him off (see line 34). Though Trump’s interruption of the reporter makes sufficiently clear his impatience with the question -(the reporter was obviously intending to address the complaints levied against Trump’s administration by “hospital administrators” and “doctors”)-  the repeated, staccato-like rise tones that characterize Trump’s answer (see line 38) further convey his frustration.  To the listener, it seems that Trump is almost challenging the reporter to interrupt him, much in the manner of a stereotypical bully, closing in on their victim -(ie. Got a problem? Huh? What you looking at? etc.).  This tactic -(whether conscious or unconscious)- proves effective for Trump insofar as he manages to hold the floor. 

Our intuitive interpretations of Trump’s use of rise tones appear to be supported by the research of both David Brazil (1985) and Cheng and Warren (2005). In his oft-cited work on intonation in discourse, Brazil (1985) posited that rise tones may be employed for the purposes of asserting “dominance and control,” as they allow the speaker to hold the floor while challenging the listener to respond (as cited by Liberman 2005).  In support of Brazil’s research are the findings of Cheng and Warren, whose 2005 corpus study of English use in Hong Kong revealed that rise tones were used most frequently by those in positions of power, such as business chairs and supervisors (as cited by Liberman 2005, 2008).  These researchers also speculated that an authority figure’s use of rise tones repeatedly throughout a sustained speech may strike listeners as “the assertion of dominance and control” (Cheng & Warren 2005, as cited by Liberman 2005).  Since Trump is in a position of extreme authority, and since the coronavirus press briefings -(like the speeches of a business chair or a supervisor)- are his to dominate, it is likely that the President’s rise tones are signals of power assertion.  Most interesting for us, however, is Trump’s apparent tendency to use rise tones more frequently when he is displeased by questions that cast doubt over the efficacy of his administration’s handling of the virus.  This trend could suggest that one of Trump’s responses to threat in social situations is to remind his listeners of his superiority through intonation that reasserts dominance.

Though George Lakoff’s conceptual model of the Strict Father does not address the discourse functions of intonation patterns, we propose here that Donald Trump’s use of repeated rise tones is “unsurprising” if he is indeed representative of Lakoff’s Strict Father.  Remember that one of the foremost priorities of the Strict Father is to maintain total authority over his subordinates -(ie. Children, wife, citizens)- for the sake of their safety, protection, and moral upbringing (Lakoff 1996 pp. 65-71).  If his subordinates are permitted to question him, his authority may be threatened and their safety may also be put at risk (Lakoff 1996 pp.65-66). To those whose understanding of morality follows the Strict Father model, Donald Trump’s attempt to hold the floor through the use of rise tones may therefore be a morally responsible action, his duty as the protector of our nation.  Furthermore, Trump’s habit of interrupting reporters who question his efficacy may indicate a disrespect for their moral framework, or a judgment of their upbringing as immoral.  As adults, the reporters should be entitled to a level of independence, including the right to speak their mind.  However, part of a proper Strict Father upbringing is that one learns to respect authority.  Since the reporters’ critiques of Trump are disrespectful of his authority, they are also indicative of a poor upbringing.  This could explain why Trump feels so comfortable silencing them, much as a Strict Father would an impudent child.  

Understanding Donald Trump’s Face-Saving Techniques Through Political Discourse Analysis

Research in political discourse analysis has revealed that politicians will typically attempt to produce the least face-threatening response to questions posed during political interviews, as these are contexts in which a leader’s face is frequently threatened (see Bull 2003; Bull & Fetzer 2010).  According to Erving Goffman (1955, 1967) and later Bull and Mayer (1993), there are a number of face-saving acts politicans commonly perform in political interviews.  Most notably for our analysis of Donald Trump’s coronavirus press briefings are the following tactics: 1) the avoidance of potentially face-threatening situations in the future by equivocating in response to questions; 2) the correction of past behavior; 3) the use of aggressive facework to earn political points; 4) the defense or justification of their party’s choices (Goffman 1955, 1967, as cited by Bull & Fetzer 2010; see also Bull & Mayer 1993; Catellani & Covelli 2013).  

The sections to follow will present examples wherein Trump used each of these face-saving techniques throughout the coronavirus press briefings in March and April, along with a brief analysis of how these techniques may have aided in preserving his Strict Father image.   

Face-Saving Technique #1: Equivocation

In the following selection from Donald Trump’s coronavirus press briefing on March 16th, the President equivocates in response to a reporter’s inquiry as to how many ICU beds and ventilators are currently available in the country.  

22. Trump: = I could get back to you with that number. we've (.) ordered a LOT (.)

23. uh we (.) have (.) quite a few, but it may not be enough 

24. and if it's not enough we will have it by the time we need it, (.5) 

Rather than respond with a precise number, Trump begins by emphatically insisting that “a LOT” of these items are available; he then moves on to using less grandiose, though equally vague quantifiers, such as “a few” and “enough.”  Presumably, Trump replies in this fashion because he does not have a precise number to provide, or because he does not want to have to save face in the future should the number he gives turn out to be false.  

Equivocation is also evident in the following excerpt from April 13th:

33. rep: = what did your administration do in february 

34. with the time that your travel ban bought [ you?

35. Trump: [ a LOT. =

36. rep: = what?

37. Trump: a lot. and in fact, we’ll give you a list (.) what we did

Here, Trump uses the quantifier “a LOT” yet again, quite notably promising “a list” of actions on a future date.  This saves him from saying anything now he might not be able to defend later, though the promise of a list could be face-threatening should he fail to provide it.  Nevertheless, Bull (2003) explains that although equivocation can be face-threatening in and of itself, responding vaguely can be considerably less face-threatening than admitting one doesn’t know an answer (see Chap. 10).  In equivocating like this, Trump is also attempting to appear in control of the situation, much as a Strict Father should.  Were he to provide too many details and find himself unable to back them up on a later date, his image as the all-knowing patriarch would be threatened.  

Face-Saving Technique #2: Correcting Past Behavior 

Another face-saving technique that Trump employs is the correction of past behavior (Bull & Mayer 1993) -(interpreted by many liberals as blatant dishonesty).  On numerous occasions throughout his press briefings, the President insists that both he and his administration knew the coronavirus was serious from the outset, although his behavior in January and February did not indicate such an understanding of the threat.  Three such excerpts from March 17th are provided below:  

6. Reporter #1 (male): ...that made you decide that yes (.) now is the time to

7. implement these much more uh stringent social distancing measures this-

8. Trump: no I dont think so this is where we were going i-i really think from the 

9. beginning (Trump turns to get affirmation from vice president and others behind 

10. him) this is where we were going this is what we had in mind (.) uh (.) we were 

11. were just were just going step by step that was the next step the next logical step 

22. Trump: i didnt think - i mean i have seen that where people uh actually liked it but i didnt

23. feel (.5) different ive always known this is a (0.5) this is a real (.) this is a pandemic. i felt

24. it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic all you had to do is look at other

25. countries (0.5) i think now its in almost 120 countries (.) all over the world. (.) no ive

26. always viewed it as very serious there was no difference yesterday from (.) days before.

50. Trump: you know me (.) for a long time ive been talking about this for many years (.) 

51. long before i decided to run for president ive been talking about this and (.) uh we have

By insisting that he was never cavalier about the virus -(and even going so far as to say he had been “talking” about it “long before” his run for the presidency)-Trump is attempting to rewrite the history of his response to the pandemic.  Though this is clearly dishonest, admitting to his lack of foresight and refusal to listen to medical authorities would be equally, if not more face-threatening, especially to his Strict Father image.  The Strict Father should always know what dangers lie ahead (Lakoff 1996).  Since Trump did not, it is necessary for him to insist that he did and that the media is mistaken in their interpretation of what he said previously. 

Face-Saving Technique #3: Using Facework Aggressively To Make Political Points

The key to aggressive facework, according to Goffman (1955, 1967), is to attack the enemy’s face in the hopes of saving your own (as cited by Bull & Fetzer 2010).  This is a tactic Trump clearly leverages in the following examples from March 17th and April 13th, respectively. 

Example 1, 3/17 (Trump comparing his handling of the coronavirus to the 

Obama administration’s handling of Swine Flu)

93. Trump: ...and if you look at (.) uh swine flu (.) the uh the whole thing and I guess it was

94. (.) 2009 (.) and uh (.5) what they did and the mistakes theyve made (.5) uh (.) they were

95. terrible there were horrific mistakes. 17,000 people died. and ill be (.) honest uh (.5) they

96. shouldnt be criticizing because weve done a fantastic job. 

Example 2, 4/18 (Trump responding to a liberal reporter)

40. Trump: look, (.) look, (.5) you know you're a fake. (.5) you know that. 

41. your whole network the way you cover it (.) is fake. 

42. and most of you- (.) and not all of you, (.) but the people are wise to you. 

43. that's why you have a lower- a lower approval rating 

44. than you’ve ever had before (.)  ↑times probably three.

45. rep: [ twenty million people are now unemployed, =

46. Trump: [ and when you ask me that question =

47. rep: = tens of thousands are dead, mr. president ]

48. Trump:         = let me ask you this. why didn't biden- ] why didn't-

49. why did Biden apologize? why did he write a letter of [ apology (.) ]

50. rep:         [ I don’t think that 

51. people right now [ care about why Joe Biden didn’t apologize to you sir.] =

52. Trump:       [ NO, that's very important.]

In the first of these examples, Trump draws a comparison between his handling of the coronavirus and Obama’s handling of the Swine Flu.  In doing so, he aims to improve judgments of his performance and thereby leave listeners with a better impression of him.  Quite notably, Trump uses specific numbers in this excerpt, not equivocating as he does when asked for statistics related to his own administration’s actions.  These numbers are perhaps intended to make him seem like an authority on the Swine Flu, part of the all-knowing image he is trying to uphold as the Strict Father of the nation.   

In the second example, Trump uses aggressive facework and avoidance to “make political points,” as Goffman (1955, 1967) termed it (as cited by Bull & Fetzer 2010, p. 158).  Rather than answer the reporter’s question, he attacks the liberal media and demands to know why Biden has not apologized for some apparent misdeed.  Though a liberal listener would presumably perceive this as childish deflection, Trump will likely gain points with his constituents for finding a way to throw his opponent under the bus.  

In this excerpt, the President is also exhibiting his Strict Father understanding of Moral Accounting -(however ineffective his attempt at balancing the books may be).  Upon being grilled about his response to the coronavirus -(and knowing he has no answer to the questions)- Trump demands an equally critical inquiry of his opponent.  The implication here is that Biden must also be criticized by the media in order for such criticism to be morally just; otherwise, Trump is being unfairly punished and the moral books are out of balance.  

Face-saving Technique #4: Defense of the Party’s Choices 

Trump’s most consistent face-saving tactic is arguably his insistence that his administration -with him at the helm- made the right choice when they closed the borders to China.  It is no coincidence that he has latched onto this example, as it was arguably the most effective decree made by his administration in the early days of the pandemic.  Still, Trump does not let his listeners forget that this decision was made, nor who made it, as constantly reminding the country of the border closure saves both his own face and the face of his party.  Consider the examples below, both from March 17th:

Example 1:

12. and I think very importantly (.) uh one of the most important things when you write the

13. history of this was the fact that we closed it down to china and europe ↑ but in particular

14. china we closed it down to China the source very very early (0.5) very very early (0.5) far

15. earlier than even the great professionals wanted to do (0.5) and I think in the end thats

16. going be - that will have saved a tremendous number of lives-

Example 2: 

76. never been done before but it was a great decision ↑ (.5) uh (.) we make good decisions.

77. so uh (.) ill tell you my best decision (.) the people behind me are total pros...

In these two excerpts, Trump uses the pronoun we rather than the pronoun I to draw attention to the collective wisdom of his Republican administration.  This allows him to save the face of the party while also bolstering his own reliability -a strategic move, as he is frequently criticized for not taking the advice of others. In mentioning that the selection of these individuals was his “best decision,” Trump also makes himself out to be a good judge of character, an important quality of the Strict Father (Lakoff 1996).  

Trump’s Use of Counterfactuals to Save Face and Preserve His Strict Father Image

A second face-saving tool frequently used by politicians is the counterfactual.  A counterfactual is a hypothetical statement, often expressed through the second (unreal) or third (past) conditional, or the “If...then” construction, to use the words of Catellani and Covelli (2013) (p. 480). Generally-speaking, counterfactuals are used by politicians during negative situations, often as a way to explain negative outcomes (Catellani & Covelli 2013, p. 481; see also Babic-Antic & Spasic 2017, p. 186).

Before analyzing the counterfactuals that Trump has used in his coronavirus press briefings, it is imperative to understand how counterfactuals are categorized.  The first aspect of counterfactual categorization is the direction of the counterfactual.  In an upward counterfactual, the outcome of the hypothetical scenario is supposedly better than the real outcome, while in a downward counterfactual, the outcome of the hypothetical would be worse.  The second aspect of counterfactual categorization is controllability, or whether or not those involved in the actual situation were able to control it.  Lastly, there are subtractive counterfactuals, wherein the speaker removes an element of the real situation, and additive counterfactuals, wherein an element that was not present in the real situation is added to the hypothetical (see Catellani & Covelli  2013 for a complete summary). 

As Elaine Wong (2010) reports, upward counterfactuals -(both controllable and uncontrollable)- tend to leave listeners with a better impression of the speaker, while downward counterfactuals tend to produce the opposite effect.  Part of the better impression produced by upward counterfactuals could be owing to the fact that they typically suggest the speaker is able to learn from their mistakes (Babic-Antic & Spasic 2017).  Politicians who use counterfactuals effectively therefore tend to use more upward counterfactuals, particularly those that are controllable, to save face for the future (Wong 2010; Catellani & Covelli 2013).  For instance, in saying “Had we done X, things would have been better,” a politician is admitting to their mistake -(a potentially face-threatening act)- but also admitting to their ability to learn from that mistake -(a face-saving act).  

Below are several examples of Donald Trump’s use of counterfactuals during the coronavirus press briefings:   

Example 1: 3/17 (upward, uncontrollable counterfactual)

44. Trump: ...you know the worst ever they say 1918 (.5) and i dont have to go into the

45. numbers but they were unbelievable numbers. had they known and had they done what

46. we had now it would have been a very much different story (.) it would still be tragic but

47. it would have been a very much different but that was uh (.) that was the one that uh

48. people (.) write about that was an incredible that was an incredible pandemic like -uh- we

49. haven’t seen…

Example 2: 3/25 (downward controllable counterfactual) 

1. Trump: but we're the ones that gave the great response and we're the ones that kept

2. China OUTTA HERE (.5) and if I didn't do it you'd have THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS 

3. of people died (.) would have died (.5) that are now living and happy. (.) if I didn't do that

4. early (.5) call on China and nobody wanted that to happen. (.5) everybody thought it was

5. a (.5) just unnecessary to do it and if we didn't do that thousands and thousands of

6. people would have died (.) more than what's happened…

Example 3: 4/18 (downward controllable counterfactual) 

57.Trump: = NOW, I could have- (.5) I could've (.) kept it open 

58. and I could have done what some countries are doing. (.) 

59. they're getting (.) beat up pretty badly. (.) I could've kept it open. 

60. I thought of keeping it open, (.) because nobody's ever heard of 

61. closing down a country, let alone the united states of america. 

62. but if I would've done that, we would have had 

63. hundreds of thousands of people that would right now be dead.

In Example 1, Trump uses the upward uncontrollable counterfactual in a notably unconventional way.  Though it has been found that politicians tend to favor upward counterfactuals in negative situations (Catellani & Covelli 2013; Wong 2010; Babic-Antic & Spasic 2017), Trump is not using upward counterfactuals in the manner observed by most political discourse analysts.  To explain, rather than using we or I as the pronoun in this counterfactual, Trump uses “they,” presumably meaning the administration and perhaps the general public during the 1918 Spanish Flu.  In doing so, he twists the upward counterfactual to suggest that he knows better than people in the past, whereas the more traditional use of the upward counterfactual (“Had we/I known this, things would have been better”) would suggest that the speaker -(Trump)- had learned from his experience.  If interpreted through the findings of Catellani and Covelli (2013), Wong (2010) and Babic-Antic and Spasic (2017), Trump’s counterfactual use in Example 1 is not as effective a face-saving technique as it could have been had he focused on his own lack of knowledge during the present day pandemic.  Still, it is clear that Trump is using this counterfactual comparison of past “failure” to present “success” to serve as evidence of the excellence of his response and thereby save his face. 

In Examples 2 and 3, Trump uses the same downward controllable counterfactual (“If I didn’t close the border to China, thousands of people would have died”), with varying approaches to the grammar.  These statements are evidently made with the intention of strengthening Trump’s desired image: that of a wise decision-maker with commendable foresight.  Since downward counterfactuals tend to be less successful tactics for face-saving than their upward counterparts (Wong 2010; Babic-Antic & Spastic 2017), it is possible that these remarks may have had the opposite effect on those listening to the press briefings, regardless of the implication that many of us are safer thanks to Trump’s actions.  Nevertheless, it is this message of safety and protection that the President may be most concerned with sending.  By making himself seem wiser than politicians in the past (Example 1) and making the country seem safer on account of his actions (Examples 2 and 3), Trump may not succeed at winning a popularity context, but he does succeed at presenting himself as the Strict Father: the parent who knows best and who will protect his family at any cost.  

A final aspect of counterfactual use in political discourse that struck us as relevant in our analysis of Trump’s coronavirus press briefings is that of process accountability.  In process accountability, one is judged based off how one managed the process itself, not on the outcome of that process (Markman & Tetlock 2012).  In their research on accountability and counterfactual use, Markman & Tetlock (2012) report that those who are more process-accountable -(as Trump seemingly is)- tend to “deny responsibility and foreseeability of their outcomes” (p. 1216).  Rather, they focus on what they did throughout the process and use counterfactuals that highlight their more successful decisions.  In the excerpts thus far analyzed, Trump’s tendency to return to his closure of the border to China serves as a perfect example of Markman & Tetlock’s observation.  By focusing on the process more than the outcome, Trump is also able to divert attention from his failures to his one great success, a crucial move if he wants to protect his image as the dependable and fully responsible Strict Father of our nation. 

The Nurturant Parent Makes a Brief Appearance

While Strict Father tactics are certainly dominant in Trump’s rhetoric, there was one press briefing in our sample in which his tone was markedly different. For a brief moment in time, he appeared calm, soft-spoken, and gentle. Gone was the strong-armed campaign rhetoric of late February, and talks with reporters had not yet devolved into the overly-aggressive ad hominem attacks of April 13th. In his March 16th press briefing, Trump instead embodied the “Nurturant Parent” (Lakoff 1996, p. 108). His reasons for doing so may be in part due to the fact that March 16th marked a sort of tone-shift in the pandemic: it was the day several counties in the Bay Area issued an official “shelter-in-place” order, the first of its kind in the nation (Lin, Rust, & Rainy 2020). The coronavirus could no longer be written off as a Democratic hoax, nor was this the moment to blame China for the virus’s existence. For the first time, the pandemic was very visibly out of Trump’s control, and a frightened populace was looking to him for answers.

Having his ultimate authority questioned by a viral strain prompted Trump - (perhaps in tandem with the urging of his advisors)- to present a tone more consistent with the core values of Lakoff’s Nurturant Parent: empathy, compassion, and SOCIAL NURTURANCE (Lakoff 1996, pp. 120-121). Instead of interrupting and talking over reporters before they have finished their questions, Trump nods and listens, occasionally offering vocal back-channeling as in the soft “ya” of line 7. This type of linguistic choice shows the speaker that he is listening attentively, and that he values the input of the other (Fasold & Connor-Linton 2015).

1. rep 1: mr. president, (.5) could you (.) uh, (.) clarify something?

2. these (.) guidelines say stay home if you’re sick.

3. yesterday the vice president said, (.) no one should worry about (.) losing 

4. a paycheck if they stay home when they're sick. 

5. but the ↑house bill (.5) exempts companies (.5) of five hundred employees 

6. or more from the paid (.) sick leave (.) =

7. Trump: = ya 

The Nurturant Parent also deviates strongly from the Strict Father in that they do not emphasize a Moral Order; there is no hierarchy of power assumed in the family. Instead, cooperation and collaboration are the focus. The goal is to help children slowly become more self-conscious, and, in turn, nurturant of themselves and others (Lakoff 1996, p.108-121). This approach entails valuing the questions a child asks, allowing them to lead their own journey of self-actualization (p. 108 - 121). In this March 17th exchange, the reporter challenges Trump, asking him to defend a controversial decision to only require small businesses to provide paid sick leave, exempting big companies from doing the same. This could have easily been a hot-button moment, suggesting that Trump is lining the pockets of big corporations, but he receives it with considerable poise.  

At a moment in which the virus had dramatically worsened, Trump showed respect and support for the reporters’ questions not only through back-channeling, but also by assuring the reporter that the idea is being considered. They are “looking at that” (3/16 line 10,11,13) and they “want fairness” (line 11). Trump even concludes the interaction by telling the reporter that they have asked a good question (line 17), assuring them that their input is valued. From a conceptual standpoint, entertaining the idea of holding all companies to the same standards during the pandemic shows that Trump is considering a model of SOCIAL NURTURANCE, in which “the primary moral need [is] working constantly for compromise and the maintenance of community” (Lakoff 1996, p. 121). This instance also exemplifies (at least an attempt to project the image of) the conceptual model of “Equality of Distribution” (Lakoff 1996, p. 123). Where the Strict Father model upholds the ideal of “Equality of Opportunity” -as seen in the free-market Capitalist system to which America currently subscribes- the Nurturant Parent model tends to support either an identical distribution of resources amongst people, or a scale-based one, in which people are awarded resources based on the type and depth of their need (Lakoff 1996, p. 124). 

8. rep 1: = requirement and that's fifty-four percent of the american workplace. 

8. why is it a good idea to only require small businesses 

9. to °provide paid°[ sick leave°?

10. Trump:     [ well we're looking at that, and we may be expanding 

11. that. we are looking at that. we want fairness, =

12. rep 1:   [ (you want) the senate to add (.) BIG COMPANIES? ]

13. Trump: = we want it for everybody, now we're looking at that 

14. through the senate, (.) because as you know the senate is now =

15. rep 1:   [ (you want) them to add big companies? ]

16. Trump: = [ digesting that bill, (.5) 

17. so we may very well be (.) heading something on that, k? good question.

Trump’s magnanimous treatment of the press in the interaction presented above is especially notable in light of how frequently he tends to antagonize them and call them “fake news” (2/28, 3/18). The liberal media has been sternly placed into the “them” camp time and time again. Indeed, Trump typically avoids answering their questions by skipping straight to an ad hominem attack as in “you’re so disgraceful” (line 9) or “you know you’re a fake” (line 40) on April 13th.He calls CNN “fake news” at his campaign rally on February 28th (line 55), and professes that the only failure of his administration is their “press relationships” on March 17th, connecting it, of course, to the media’s lack of coverage of his bold decision to close the border to China (line 93 - 104). But on March 16th, when questioned about the veracity of his statement that the virus was “under control,” Trump answers the question directly, and only a little defensively. 

As an entailment of Moral Authority, control is perhaps the Strict Father’s most salient thematic element. It could be assumed then, that a member of the press asking Trump to defend a statement he made claiming to have the situation under control could be met with stern reprimand from the Strict Father. In the exchange below however, Trump does not become incensed; rather, he calmly redirects the reporter to what is (purportedly) the true intention of his statement. “I’m saying we are doing (.) a very good job with the confines of what we’re dealing with,” he says (lines 37-38). And when the reporter asks, somewhat provocatively, “but IT’S NOT under- you’re not- you’re not saying it’s under control, right?” Trump responds coolly, “yeah. (.) if you’re talking about the virus?” No, (.) that’s not under control for any place in the world, I think” (lines 43 - 48). This response is tactful.  Trump insinuates that the reporter had simply misinterpreted his March 15th statement to mean he had the virus under control, and here he is, patiently guiding him to the correct answer. It is, at the very least, an impression of the Nurturant Parent, who values a child’s questions and expresses empathy and respect for them by minimizing their hierarchical relationship (Lakoff 1996, pp. 111-113).

31. rep 2: = ok, and yesterday you (.5) said that this was under tremendous control.

32. do you want to revisit that statement if we are going to be experience:- 

33. experiencing this until July or August? five more months (.5) 

34. ahead of right [ where we are now?]

35. Trump:                       [ well- what I- I’m talking about control,

37. I’m saying we are doing (.) a very good job within the confines of 

38. what we're dealing with we're doing a very good job. (.)

39. there's been a uh, (.) there's been a tremendous (.) uh amount of 

40. the- the: the way they're working together. 

41. they're working hand in hand. (.) I think they're doing really a great job 

42. and from that standpoint (.) that's what I was referring to.

43. [ go ahead Steve. ] 

43. rep 2: [ but IT’S NOT under- you’re not- you’re not saying 

44. it’s under control, right? =

45. Trump: = I'm not referring to IT. (.5) meaning (.) the (.) =

46. rep 2: = coronavirus.

47. Trump: = yeah. (.) if you're talking about the virus? 

48. no, (.) that's not under control for any place in the world I think =

49. rep 2: [ yesterday you had said it was, so I wanted to clarify.]

50. Trump: [ I read (.) I think I read- ] (.) 

no I didn't, I was talking about what WE’RE doing is under control, 

but I'm not talking about the virus. (.) yes, please

Implications and Suggestions for Future Research

Though attempting to uphold his own Strict Father image and the supposed infallibility of his administration has presented Trump with significant challenges throughout the pandemic, the President has managed to leverage various face-saving methods throughout these briefings, though not always to their full potential.  By studying Trump’s speech patterns through the lens of Lakoff’s conceptual model of the Strict Father, Van Leeuwen’s Social Network of Actors, and various findings from both Critical Discourse Analysis and Political Discourse Analysis, we have developed a better understanding of how the President attempts to save face -(whether consciously or unconsciously)- and how these tactics may serve to bolster his image as the authoritative, all-knowing protector of our nation.    

Since Saving Face is likely on all politicians’ minds when engaging in public interviews, it is our recommendation that discourse analysts consider the potential involvement of face-saving tactics when evaluating political rhetoric.  Specifically to Trump’s facework, a more in-depth study of the techniques we observed would be useful, as would a closer investigation of Trump’s use of counterfactuals and his construction of the “Us vs. Them” dynamic within the specific context of the coronavirus. The scope of the research could also be extended past our cutoff of April 13th, in order to track the consistencies and adaptations in Trump’s rhetorical patterns as the state of the world evolves. 

Transcript Conventions Key

(.) (a period inside parentheses) a pause less than 0.5 of a second

(0.5) a silence measured in (0.5) a second

Word (underline) utterance stress

WORD (all capital) a word is louder than the other parts of the utterance

°word° the degree sign is used to indicate that part of the utterance which is softer than 

the surrounding talk

↑ rising intonation

↓ falling intonation

. a period indicates a stopping fall in tone, with some sense of completion (but not 

necessarily the end of a sentence)

, a comma indicates a slightly rising tone, giving a sense of continuation

? A question mark indicates a rising tone which may (or may not) indicate a 

question

! An exclamation mark indicates an animated tone, not necessarily an exclamation

: A colon is used to indicate a stretched sound and is placed after the stretched 

vowel

(iii) Falsetto, or whispered

( ) Unclear word

(word) Guess at unclear word

[sighs] Non-lexical phenomena, vocal and non-vocal, which interrupts lexical speech

>words< speeding up the pace of delivery

- a single dash indicates a cut off either because of interruption or self-repair

= latching

[speaker 1 interruption or overlap

[speaker 2

A Trump rally in Charleston, South Carolina - February 28th, 2020

Minute 6:40

1. Trump: but with your help we have exposed the far left’s corruption (.)

2. and defeated (.) their siniste::r schemes, and let’s see (.5) what happens 

(.5)

3. ↑in the coming ↓months. let’s watch. (2.0) 

4. crowd: ((cheer))

5. Trump: let’s just watch (2.5)

6. ↑Very ↓dishonest people. 

7. NOW the democrats are (.) politicizing (.) the (.) coronavirus, 

8. you know that right? 

9. crowd: booooooo

10. Trump: coronavirus (1.0) they’re politicizing it. 

11. we did one of the great jobs, you say, 

12. how’s president dru-trump doing? 

13. they go, (iii) oh, not good, not good. 

14. crowd: [laugh]

15. they have no clue. >they don’t have any clue< 

16. they can’t even count their votes in Iowa

17. they can’t even count (1.0)

18. crowd: [laugh] ((cheer))

19. Trump: no, they can’t (1.0)

20. THEY CAN’T COUNT THEIR VOTES!

Minute 7:19

21. Trump: and this is their ↑new ↓hoax:: 

22. but you know, we did something that’s been pretty amazing. 

23. we have fifteen people in this massive country (.5) 

24. and because of the fact (.) that we went early, we went early 

25. we could have had a ↑lot more than ↓that. 

26. we’re doing great. our country is doing so great. We are so unified (.5)

27. crowd: ((cheer))

28. we are so unified. 

29. the republican party (1.5) has never (.) ever (.) 

30. been unified like it is now.

31. There has never been a movement (.5) in the history of our country (.) 

32. like we have now. never been a movement (3.5)

33. crowd: ((cheer))

34. Trump: So a STATISTIC (.5) =

35. crowd: = (unclear words)

36. Trump: = that we want to talk about- go ahead. say USA it’s okay. USA. (8.0)

37. crowd: USA! USA! (Unclear chanting)

38. Trump: So (1.5) a number (.5) 

39. >that nobody heard of, 

40. that I heard of recently and I was shocked to hear it< 

41. thirty-five thousand people (.) on average die (.) each year from the ↑flu

42. did anyone know that? thirty-five thousand.

43. that’s a LOT of people. (.5) 

44. it could go to a ↑hundred ↓thousand, it could be ↑twenty-seven ↓thousand

45. they say usually a minimum of twenty-seven (.)

46. goes up to a hundred thousand people a year ↑die↓(.5)

47. and so far (.5) we have lost (.5) nobody (.5) to coronavirus (.5) 

48. in the United States (1.5)

49. crowd: ((cheer))

50. Trump: nobody (1.5)

51. and it doesn’t mean we won’t (.5) and we are (.) totally prepared

52. it doesn’t mean we won’t. but think of it,

53. you hear thirty-five and forty thousand people (.) 

54. an:::d we’ve lost nobody (.) and you wonder (.) the (.) press is in (.)

55. hysteria mode. CNN fake news and >the camera ↑just went off<, 

56. crowd: booooooooo.

57. Trump: the camera.

58. THE CAMERA JUST WENT OFF! turn it back on.

Break at minute 10:03

Minute 13:38

59. WE ARE (.5) magnifently- we are really (.) you take a look (.) 

60. magnificently organized (.) with the best professionals in the world. 

61. we’re prepared for the (.) absolute worst-

62. >you have to be prepared for the worst< (.) but hopefully (.) 

63. it will all amount to (.) very little. 

64. that’s why I tell you when we have the ↑flu: with 

65. thirty five thousand people, and this one is uh: (.)

66. we have to take it very very seriously >that’s what we’re doing<

67. we are preparing for the worst, my administration (.)

68. has taken (.) 

69. to prevent the spread of this illness in the united states. 

70. crowd: ((cheer))

71. Trump: we are ready (.) we are ready (.5) totally ready. (..) 

72. crowd: ((cheer))

73. Trump: on JANUARY thirty first, (.) I ordered the suspension of foreign nationals 74. who have recently been in China from entering the united states. (...)

75. crowd: ((cheer))

76. Trump: AN ACTION which the democrats (.) loudly criticized and protested (.5)

77. and NOW (.) everybody’s complimenting me saying 

78. thank you very much, you were one hundred percent correct. (.)

79. crowd: ((cheer))

80. could’ve been a whole different story. (1.0) 

81. BUT I SAY, so let’s get this right.(.5) 

82. a virus starts in China, (1.0) BLEEDS its way into various countries 

83. all around the world, (.) DOESN’T spread widely at all in the United States 84. because of the early actions that 

85. myself and my administration took (1.0) 

86. against (.) a lot of other wishes (1.0)

87. and the democrats’ (.5) single toink- talking point, and you see it, (.) 

88. is that (.5) it’s donald trump’s fault, right? °It’s donald trump’s fault° (.) 

89. crowd: ((indistinctive laughter sounds)) booooooo

90  Trump: NO, just things that happened, but you know what this does show you? 91. things happen. (.) >whoever thought of this two weeks ago 

92. who would’ve thought< (.) this could (.) be going on. four weeks ago. 

93. you wouldn’t- but things happen in life, (.) and you have to be prepared 

94. and you have to be flexible, 

95. and you have to be able to go out and get it,

96. and my guys that we have the ↑best ↓professionals ↑in the ↓world, 

97. the ↑best in the ↓world and we are ↑so ready. (.)

98. at the same time that I initiated the first (.5) federally mandated quarantine 99. in over fifty years, we had to quarantine some people. 

100. they WEREN’T happy (.5) they WEREN’T HAPPY ABOUT IT, 

101. I want to tell you, >there are a lot of people that not so happy,< 

102. but after two weeks they got happy. (1.0) you know who got happy? 

103. the people around them got happy. that’s who got happy. (.5)

104. I also created a white house (1.0) virus (.) task force, 

105. >It’s a big thing< a virus task force. (.5)

106. I requested two point five billion dollars to ensure (.5) 

107. we HAVE the resources we need. (.)

108. the DEMOCRATS said THAT’S TERRIBLE! 

109. he’s doing the wrong thing! he needs EIGHT and a HALF billion, 

110. not two and a half >i’ve never had that before I ask for two and a half 

111. they want to give me eight and a half< so I said I’ll take it. 

112. crowd:   [cheer]

113. Trump: does that make me a bad-? 

114. crowd: [CHEER]

115. Trump:   I’ll ↑take it. I’ll take it! 

116. I never had that before. I never had it! (1.0) 

117. we want two and a half million that’s plenty. 

118. WE DEMAND YOU TAKE EIGHT AND A HALF. 

119. HE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT HE’S DOING! 

120. we want eight and a half (.5) these people are crazy. 

121. WE MUST UNDERSTAND that BORDER SECURITY is also 

122. health security. (3.5)

122. crowd:   [cheer]

123. Trump: and you’ve all seen the wall has gone ↑up like ↓magic. 

124. it’s gone up like magic.

End time 17:23

At Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), February 29th

Opens with an interesting quote by ________, who introduces Trump

1- “He’s the voice of the forgotten, the once silent men and women of America. He stands with you, he loves you, and there’s no doubt he loves our great country.”

Minute 23:00

1. Trump: and WE’RE ALSO committed to ensuring (.)

2. that those who mean to do us harm (.5)

3. as a nation, (.) even as individuals 

4. are denied admission to america (.5)

5. they're not allowed (.) into our country (.5) 

6. and we have some very very powerful people right now

7. our borders are strong (.5) all of the (.) 

8. nine eleven (.) hijackers came here on visas (.5) 

9. and we had determined to keep (.) radical (.5) Islamic terrorists (.)

10. the hell (.5) out (.5) of o:ur (.) country (4.0)

11. crowd:   ((cheer))

12. Trump: and we're keeping them out, (1.0) BORDER SECURITY is also (1.0)

13. health (.) security (1.0)

14. in our efforts to keep America safe, (.) my administration has taken (.) 

15. the most aggressive action in modern history to control our borders (.) 

16. and protect (.) Americans from the (.5) corona (.) virus (2.0) 

17. crowd: ((clap)) 

18. Trump: came from China (1.0) 

19. IN THE EARLY STAGES of the foreign (.) outbreak (.)

20. I ordered sweeping travel restrictions to prevent uncontrolled spread (.) 

21. of this disease, >I took a lot of HEAT!< 

22. because I did it very early, 

23. >you know we had never done it before Matt< (.)

24. never done it before and, we had never done anything like that before,

25. so not only did we ↑do ↓it, but I did it very early (.5) 

26. an:d that DECISION (.5) has been now (.) given (.) very good grades, (.)

27. like an A plus plus plus (3.0)

28. crowd: [laugh]

29. Trump: I took a LOT OF HEAT, even from my own people (.5) 

30. but we did the right thing, (.) the extreme fringe-ists called us racists (.5)

31. for imposing thes:e (.5) critical life-saving measures. 

32. they wanted to let infected people pour into our country!- 

33. >I don't think they knew how bad it was,< (.) in all fairness, (.5) 

34. but nothing will deter us from protecting (.) 

35. the well being of the American people (3.0)

36. MY JOB is to protect (1.0) americans, (.) 

37. and also, very crucially in this case, to protect americans health (.5) 

38. and we'll do that, and we will do it with a vigor! 

39. THAT IS WHY TODAY my admiss- 

40. crowd: ((cheer))

41. Trump: alright, thank you. (.)

42. THAT IS WHY today, my administration announced (.) new measures (.5) 

43. to protect americans (.) to the fullest extent possible. (.5) 

44. in addition to the existing ban on travel by most (.5) ↑Iranian ↓Nationals (.)

45. we're banning the travel of anyone who has been to Iran 

46. in the last fourteen days- they're having a very big outbreak (3.0) 

47. crowd: ((applause)) 

48. Trump: AND I SAY HERE, now, if (.) we can help the Iranians- (.)

49. we're doing certain things for them now and-

50. if we can help the Iranians, 

51. we have the greatest health care professionals in the world, 

52. a:nd if we can help the Iranians with this problem 

53. we are certainly willing to do so, we would love to be able to help them,(.)

54. a::nd all they have to do is ask. we will have (.) 

55. great professionals over there (.) we have the best of the world. (3.0) 

56. crowd: ((applause))

57. and we’re RAISING (.) the state department travel (.) advisories for

58. south korea and italy, unfortunately (.5)

59. including a level four, that's the highest, do not travel. 

60. they do not travel (.) advisory, for several areas of both countries. 

61. there are (.) two areas of (.) each country that is very (.) 

62. heavily infected (.5)

63. and we are urging Americans to exercise increase caution throughout all

64. of europe (.5) we will do everything in our power to keep the virus 

65. and those carrying the infections (.5) from entering our country 

66. >as you know we took in< approximately forty people 

67. there were americans and (.) uh (.5) they may have had it (.5) 

68. some had it (.5) but, they were put in quarantine

69. and it's working out (.) many of them are (.5) in good shape right now 

70. and they're (.5) better and going home. 

71. it's time for (.) all americans to put politics aside and to come together 

72. to work for the health safety and security of the american people. 

73. crowd: [applause]

74. Trump: (It’d be a great thing) (3.5)

75. crowd: [applause]

76. Trump: because, you know I WATCH- and maybe it's a natural reflex 

77. but I watch cause we have done a great job (.5) 

78. °I mean° if nothing else, making that very early decision

79. weeks, weeks early (.5) a:nd uh (.) we've done a great job, and 

80. I've gotten to know these professionals, they're incredible (.5) 

81. a:nd everything is under control, I mean they're very very cool 

82. they've done it (.5) and they've done it well. 

83. everything's really under control but- (.5) 

84. when they put a mic in front of a democrat (.5) uh (.5) 

85. and the democrat said, doesn't even know what's going on. (.5) 

86. how is Trump doing? (iii) he's (.) doing a terrible job- well. 

87. SADLY I’D PROBABLY say the same about them. (2.0) 

88. crowd: [laugh]wooo!

89. Trump: you know. (.5) I guess it’s a natural reflect.

End time: 27:49

Press Briefing March 16th: an exchange between president Trump and four different reporters (rep 1 - rep 4)

Minute 16:02

1. rep 1: mr. president, (.5) could you (.) uh, (.) clarify something?

2. these (.) guidelines say stay home if you’re sick.

3. yesterday the vice president said, (.) no one should worry about (.) losing 

4. a paycheck if they stay home when they're sick. 

5. but the ↑house bill (.5) exempts companies (.5) of five hundred employees 

6. or more from the paid (.) sick leave (.) =

7. Trump: = ya 

8. rep 1: = requirement and that's fifty-four percent of the american workplace. 

8. why is it a good idea to only require small businesses 

9. to °provide paid°[ sick leave°?

10. Trump:     [ well we're looking at that, and we may be expanding 

that. we are looking at that. we want fairness, =

13. rep 1:   [ (you want) the senate to add (.) BIG COMPANIES? ]

13. Trump: = we want it for everybody, now we're looking at that 

14. through the senate, (.) because as you know the senate is now =

15. rep 1:   [ (you want) them to add big companies? ]

16. Trump: = [ digesting that bill, (.5) 

17. so we may very well be (.) heading something on that, k? good question.

18. rep 2: two questions for you mr. president,

19. one going off of what (.) he was asking, (.)

20. how many ventilators (.) and how many ICU beds do we have right now (.)

21. and (.) will it be enough? = 

22. Trump: = I could get back to you with that number. we've (.) ordered a LOT (.)

23. uh we (.) have (.) quite a few, but it may not be enough 

24. and if it's not enough we will have it by the time we need it, (.5) 

25. hopefully we won't need them. = 

26. rep 2: = and you’ll (.) give us the exact number? =

27. Trump: = [ yeah we’ll be able to give you =

28. rep 2:   [ because so far th-they have not (.) given us an exact number. ]

29. Trump: = well we’ll give you- we could give you an exact number if it's important, 

30. we'll give you a number go ahead. =

31. rep 2: = ok, and yesterday you (.5) said that this was under tremendous control.

32. do you want to revisit that statement if we are going to be experience:- 

33. experiencing this until July or August? five more months (.5) 

34. ahead of right [ where we are now?]

35. Trump:                       [ well- what I- I’m talking about control,

37. I’m saying we are doing (.) a very good job within the confines of 

38. what we're dealing with we're doing a very good job. (.)

39. there's been a uh, (.) there's been a tremendous (.) uh amount of 

40. the- the: the way they're working together. 

41. they're working hand in hand. (.) I think they're doing really a great job 

42. and from that standpoint (.) that's what I was referring to.

43. [ go ahead Steve. ] 

43. rep 2: [ but IT’S NOT under- you’re not- you’re not saying 

44. it’s under control, right? =

45. Trump: = I'm not referring to IT. (.5) meaning (.) the (.) =

46. rep 2: = coronavirus.

47. Trump: = yeah. (.) if you're talking about the virus? 

48. no, (.) that's not under control for any place in the world I think =

49. rep 2: [ yesterday you had said it was, so I wanted to clarify.]

50. Trump: [ I read (.) I think I read- ] (.) 

no I didn't, I was talking about what WE’RE doing is under control, 

but I'm not talking about the virus. (.) yes, please

52. rep 3: the stock market took another hit today, (.5)

53. is the US economy heading into a recession? = 

54. Trump: = WELL it may be. we’re not thinking in terms of recession 

55. we're thinking in terms of the virus. once we stop- 

56. I think there's a tremendous (.5) pent up demand 

57. both in terms of the stock market and in terms of the economy (.5) 

58. a:nd once this goes away (.) once it (.5) 

59. goes through and we're done with it, I think you're gonna see a 

60. tremendous- a tremendous surge.  

61. rep 3: are you looking at any domestic travel restrictions? 

62. I know that’s been on the table before, but is that (.) firming up at all?

63. Trump: we're not really, we hope we don't have to Steve, 

64. we- we think that u:h- (.5) hopefully we won't have to do that (.5)

65. but it's certainly something that we talk about every day. (.5)

66. we haven't made that decision.

67. All rep: [indistinguishable shouts] mr. president!

68. rep 4: mr. president can I ask you? 

69. doctors and nurses in this country (.) are telling us (.5) 

70. across the board (.5) they're terrified (.5) of this virus, (.5) 

71. >of the fact that< they could get it, (.5) or the fact they might take it 

72. home to their families. (.5) what can you say (.) 

73. to assure health care providers in this country that the federal

74. government is doing something TOday (.) to ensure that they get 

75. personal protective equipment (.) =

76. Trump:   [ ya ]

77. rep 4: = [ to protect themselves (.) and their families?

78. Trump: well ↑I think the federal government is doing everything that we can 

79. possibly do, we made some very good early decisions by 

80. keeping people out, (.) by keeping (.5) uh bor- countries out, (.)

81. certain countries where the infection was very (.5) immense

End time: 18:58 

March 17th, 2020 White House Coronavirus Press Briefing

Minute 63:26

1. Trump: ...everything else our economy is gonna come roaring back. youre gonna know

2. were gonna know were gonna all know that day if somebody was asking about the day

3. when will you know when will you know (0.5) were gonna you know all of a sudden were

4. gonna say wow thats looking good thats looking good thats looking good and (.) were

5. gonna be on the other side of the curve (.) and thats a day that we look forward to okay?

6. Reporter #1 (male): ...that made you decide that yes (.) now is the time to implement

7. these much more uh stringent social distancing measures this-

8. Trump: no I dont think so this is where we were going i-i really think from the beginning

9. (Trump turns to get affirmation from vice president and others behind him) this is where

10. we were going this is what we had in mind (.) uh (.) we were were just were just going

11. step by step that was the next step the next logical step (.) uh (.) as uh (.) dr fauci said

12. and I think very importantly (.) uh one of the most important things when you write the

13. history of this was the fact that we closed it down to china and europe ↑ but in particular

14. china we closed it down to China the source very very early (0.5) very very early (0.5) far

15. earlier than even the great professionals wanted to do (0.5) and I think in the end thats

16. going be - that will have saved a tremendous number of lives-

17. Reporter #2 (female): …one on the economy and the other on the broader picture

18. here but just to follow up on my colleague (.) some people did note that your tone

19. seemed more somber yesterday you talked about that august timeline… did you see

20. projection some people thought perhaps that that two million potentially that could die

21. maybe (.) prompted part of that was there a shift in tone?

22. Trump: i didnt think - i mean i have seen that where people uh actually liked it but i didnt

23. feel (.5) different ive always known this is a (0.5) this is a real (.) this is a pandemic. i felt

24. it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic all you had to do is look at other

25. countries (0.5) i think now its in almost 120 countries (.) all over the world. (.) no ive

26. always viewed it as very serious there was no difference yesterday from (.) days before. I

27. feel the tone is similar but uh some people said it wasnt.

28. Reporter #2: ...your former economic advisor said almost 100% chance of a recession

29. do you see it that way?

30. Trump: it could be I mean I dont think in terms of recession I think in terms of getting it 

31. out because (.) uh when were finished with the virus we will win we will win and when

32. that victory takes place our economy is going to go through the roof. it is so pent up (.) it

33. is so built up it is so ready to go -uh -uh in a (.) in an upward direction but we have to

34. knock out this enemy this is a really tough enemy but we have to knock out all of us -

35. thats all of us so I dont think in terms of recession not recession its words (.) we have to

36. knock out this and we will have an economy -I actually think well have an economy like

37. weve never had before. its all pent up did you have something to say mike?

38. Pence: i think the question about -about the actions that the presidents authorized

39. beginning in January (.5) when he took the unprecedented step of suspending all travel

40. from china the efforts to um-uh (.) issue travel advisories for portions of italy and south

41. korea and then to begin screening all the passengers (.5) the efforts regarding

42. suspending travel for europe and what went into effect at midnight last night (.) adding

43. the uk and ireland to that have all been informed by the experts that are surrounding us... 

Minute 67:39

1. Trump: ...you know the worst ever they say 1918 (.5) and i dont have to go into the

2. numbers but they were unbelievable numbers. had they known and had they done what

3. we had now it would have been a very much different story (.) it would still be tragic but

4. it would have been a very much different but that was uh (.) that was the one that uh

5. people (.) write about that was an incredible that was an incredible pandemic like -uh- we

6. haven’t seen...

Minute 71:26

1. Trump: you know me (.) for a long time ive been talking about this for many years (.) 

2. long before i decided to run for president ive been talking about this and (.) uh we have

3. to be able to take care of our country (.)  and uh that was one of the (.) many things on

4. the list so well be talking about it...

Minute 72:32

1. Reporter#3 (British male): ...and others have criticized you for using the phrase chinese

2. (.) virus how do you feel about that are you going to continue using that phrase?

3. Trump: well china uh (.) was putting out information which was false that our military

4. gave this to them (.) that was false and uh rather than having an argument i said uh (.5) i

5. have to call it where it came from it did come from china so I think its a very accurate

6. term but no I didnt appreciate the fact that china was saying that our military gave it to

7. them. Our military did not give -give it to anybody

8. Reporter #3 (British male): would you say using that phrase creates a stimga (.) um...

9. Trump: no i dont think so (.) no i think saying that our military gave it to them (.) creates

10. a stigma

11. Reporter: ...when you speak to travel and tourism executives today what specific (.5)

12. help are you going to offer them if at all or is it still-

13. Trump: well were gonna help- they need HELP look (.) lets face it you know they go from

14. having record-breaking years (.) this is (.5) the third year of record-breaking years travel

15. and tourism (.) airlines everything (.)  uh they were doing record numbers ordering new

16. planes building new hotels everything was (.) really uh (.) hunky-dory and then one day (.)

17. we hear about this rumor in (.0 china and then we find out its much more than a rumor (.)

18. and then all of a sudden uh (.5) we make a great decision to close it up early it would be

19. a whole different world (.) it would be a whole different world but we make a decision to

20. close it up to china and all of a sudden tourism and -and then we close it up to Europe

21. which (.) you know people never heard of this before (.) im not sure that (.) thats ever

22. been done. i know that when i made the decision to close it to china people told me thats

23. never been done before but it was a great decision ↑ (.5) uh (.) we make good decisions.

24. so uh (.) ill tell you my best decision (.) the people behind me are total pros...

Minute 78:20

1. Trump: i watched her on television she said something that was false and therefore I did

2. do that (.) and I will continue to do that. if theyre not gonna play fair (.5) because you

3. know they have the media on their side. i dont. (.5) i just have me. and if theyre not

4. gonna play fair im gonna do that. Uh (.) if they are gonna play fair theres gonna be

5. nobody -(small interruptions from reporters)- theres gonna be nobody better than Donald 

6. Trump in terms of uh bipartisanship but if if theyre going to say things that are false (.)

7. like the story that was written yesterday a lot of people I don't know somebody (.) uh (.5)

8. i think i know who but they taped the conference call that i had with the governors it was

9. a good call it was fine i assume (.) somebodys going to tape it (.) they handed it to

10. various people one of it was the new york times and the new york times chose to write (.)

11. uh (.) TOTALLY inaccurately about it. It was a disgraceful thing it was bad journalism but

12. (.) you know they do a lot of bad journalism (.) but we respond to that and actually uh

13. people get it. people get it. (.) no I want it to be bipartisan and nobodys gonna  be better

14. than me but when they (.) attack (.)me or the people (.) these incredible people behind

15. me (.) im not gonna let him get away with that i cant do that...

Minute 81:53

1. Trump: ...and if you look at (.) uh swine flu (.) the uh the whole thing and I guess it was

2. (.) 2009 (.) and uh (.5) what they did and the mistakes theyve made (.5) uh (.) they were

3. terrible there were horrific mistakes. 17,000 people died. and ill be (.) honest uh (.5) they

4. shouldnt be criticizing because weve done a fantastic job. the only thing we havent done

5. well is to get good press. weve done a fantastic job but it hasnt been appreciated. Even

6. the uh -the closing down of the borders which had never been done (.) and not only did

7. we close them but we closed them early uh- the press doesnt like writing about it. So

8. weve done a poor job on press relationships and you know I guess (.) uh (.) i dont

9. know who to blame for that i dont know (.) maybe i can blame -maybe i can blame

10. ourselves for that i will blame ourselves but i think weve done a great job (.) i think

11. weve done a poor job in terms of press relationship but let me have somebody

12. answer your question…  

(Trump steps aside to let Dr. Birx approach the podium)

March 25th, 2020 White House Coronavirus Press Briefing

Minute 12:49

1. Trump: ... over a hundred and fifty countries where you have this virus. (1) and uh (.)

2. nobody would ever believe a thing like that so well nobody could have (.) ever (.5) seen

3. something like this coming (.) but now we know and we know it can happen and happen

4. again and if it does (1) somebody's going to be very well prepared because of what

5. weve learned and how weve done. its been incredible how weve done. (1) remember

6. theres more tests than anybody by far? (1.5) And uh (1) the news the reporters the

7. media it was likes to bring South Korea they called me and they told me its amazing your

8. testing procedures are amazing. (1) plus we have a test thats a very high level test (.5)

9. and its a test thats very accurate. 

Minute 13:56

1.  Trump: mayor de blasio (.) he was very (.5) happy. (2) its hard not to be happy with the

2. job we're doing. (.) that I can tell you. throughout this national emergency (.) every day

3. heroes continue to step forward and demonstrate the extraordinary character of our

4. nation including the people behind me (.5) by the way (1) these people are amazing (.5)

5. they are amazing people and they become (1) I don't know maybe I should just speak for

6. myself but (.) to me they'd become friends. maybe they don't like me maybe they don't

7. maybe they do (.) i dont know...

Minute 30:39

1. Trump: - i mean weve come a long way from an obsolete (.) BROKEN system that I

2. inherited. (.) we have now tested with the best test (.) far more (.) than anybody else. (.5)

3. when i say anybody else I'm talking about other countries. (.5) no country is even close.

Minute 37:02

1. Trump: but we're the ones that gave the great response and we're the ones that kept

2. China OUTTA HERE (.5) and if I didn't do it you'd have THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS 

3. of people died (.) would have died (.5) that are now living and happy. (.) if I didn't do that

4. early (.5) call on China and nobody wanted that to happen. (.5) everybody thought it was

5. a (.5) just unnecessary to do it and if we didn't do that thousands and thousands of

6. people would have died (.) more than what's happened...

April 10th, 2020, White House Coronavirus Press Briefing

   Minute 170:35 

1. Reporter: mr. president we learned that more than 16 million americans filed for

2. unemployment over the past three weeks its good friday (.) its payday (.) we were

3. seeing troubling (.) paralyzing lines at food banks around the country. what do you say to

4. those Americans in need right at this moment? 

5. Trump: uh number one I love em ↑ number two were working really hard ↑ it wasnt their

6. fault (.) what happened ↑ sometimes they don't do a good job and they lose their job (.)

7. thats one thing. this is a case where we take the strongest economy in the history of the

8. world which is what we had. more people (.) working in the united states (.) peter (.)

9. than EVER before.  almost (.) I mean (.) look at the numbers (.5) 160 million people

10. almost just short of 160 -excuse me- so (1) we have the greatest economy we've ever

11. had (.5) by the way (.) uh (.) black unemployment hispanic unemployment asian

12. unemployment (.) the best numbers we've ever had in virtually every way...

Minute 186:44

1. Trump: the governors have said (.) last night (.) they had a group of governors 14

2. governors they were together someplace (.5) and they said (1.5) its been unbelievable

3. (.5) whats happened. weve been totally responsive. (.) ventilators (.) everyone has the

4. ventilators they need to a point where were getting calls from foreign countries saying

5. you have all the ventilators can we get some -can- and were going to try and (.) help

6. some of these countries. these people have done an incredible job. this is not happy talk.

7. (.) maybe its happy talk for you its not happy talk for me. were talking about DEATH. (.5)

8. were talking about the greatest economy in the world one day I have to close it off. (1)

9. and we did the right thing because maybe it would have been 2 million people died (.)

10. instead of (.) whatever that final number will be. which could be 60 could be 70 could be

11. 75 could be 55 (.5) thousands of people have died. theres nothing happy about it jim.

12. this is sad talk. (small interruption from audience). this is the saddest -these are the

13. saddest (.5) these are the saddest news conferences that ive ever had. (.5) i dont like

14. doing them you know why? because im talking about death. (.5) I'm talking about taking

15. the greatest economy ever created we had the greatest numbers weve ever had in

16. almost every aspect of (.) of economics (.) from employment to companies to -look at

17. the airlines they were having the best year now all of a sudden we have to save them.

18. okay? theres no happy talk jim. this is the real deal. and Ive got to make the biggest

19. decision (.5) of my life. and ive only started thinking about that I mean you know ive

20. made a lot of big decisions over my life you understand that (.) this is by far the biggest

21. decision of my life because I have to say (.) okay (.) lets go. this is what were going to-

22. Reporter: -you have doctors you have hospital administrators-

23. Trump: sure (.) but you have many doctors that say unbelievable job! I watched this

24. morning (.5) and I watched a certain network (.5) and it wasnt fox and you had doctors

25. saying that weve done an incredible job. you just read off these no no no (.) well (.) we

26. have ventilators ↑ we have equipment ↑ we have beds ↑ how about beds? (.) I mean (.)

27. governor cuomo just told me a little while ago (.5) he's got plenty of beds! in fact theyre

28. having a hard time filling (1) javits center we built them (.) two thousand nine hundred

29. beds. so that's not a fair question-

30. Reporter: -when youre sanitizing masks and youre talking about reusing PPE equipment-

(Trump interrupts by saying “Jim” throughout)

1. Trump: no no (.) excuse me (1) we have (.5) masks ↑ we have everything and 

2. we were trying to get ready for the surge. and a lot of people said it will never happen.

3. deborah said it (.) youll NEVER need that many beds. (.5) they said we needed 40,000

4. ventilators (.) 40 thousand its like building a car. (0.5) 40,000 ventilators. (0.5) people

5. said -I felt it too. youll never need that many guess what? we have

6. tremendous -we have (.) -were the envy of the world in terms of ventilators. (.5) germany

7. would like some (.5) uh france would like some (.) were gonna help countries out ↑ (.5)

8. spain needs him desperately.  italy needs them desperately. mexico (.) needs them

9. desperately he asked me last night would it be possible to get 10,000 ventilators (.5)

10. within a short period of time ill be able to help out mexico! no jim (.) just the opposite of

11. your question. its not no no no its yes yes yes. were in great shape...

Minute 191:12

1. Trump: we have VIRTUALLY every country in the world (.) calling us (.) asking us (.) how

2. do we get these tests that you have. your testing is the best in the world (.) how do we

3. get it? theyve done a fantastic job (.) and when you ask a question like that its very

4. insulting to a lot of great people- ok (.) one more please...

Press Briefing April 13th

An exchange between reporter Paula Reid of CBS (rep) and president Trump during a press briefing. It must be noted for context that prior to this question and answer session the president’s administration screened a video about Trump’s actions during the coronavirus, which was billed as educational but has been qualified by political commentators as propaganda (Seth Meyers).

1. Trump: so when you say >why didn’t you this< (.5) every democrat (.5)

2. thought I made a mistake (.) when I did it.

3. I saved tens of thousands [ maybe =

4. rep:           [ well , what did you do with that time (.) 

5. Trump: = hundreds of thousands of lives °by putting in° ]

6. rep: that you bought? ] the argument is that you bought yourself some time and 

7.   you didn't use it to prepare hospitals, you didn't use it to ramp up testing (.)

8. rep: [ but now nearly twenty million people are =

9. Trump: [ you’re- you're so you're so disgraceful =

10. rep: = unemployed. tens of thousands =

11. Trump: = it's so disgraceful the way you say that. let me just =

12. rep: = of americans are dead =

13. Trump:    = listen, I just (.) went (.) over it ]

14. rep:     = how is this (inaudible) real ] or this rant supposed to 

15. make people [ feel confident =

16. Trump: [ I just went over it ]

17. rep: = in an unprecedented crisis?

18. Trump: NObody thought (.) we should do it (.5) and when I did it =

19. rep: = but what did you do with the time that you bought? 

20. Trump: [ you know what we did? you KNOW what we DID? =

21. rep: [ the month of february. that- that video was a gap- (.) =

22. Trump: = WHAT do you do (1.0)

23. rep: = the entire month of february. ]

24. Trump: = what you do when you have (.) 

25. NO case in the whole united [ states?

26. rep:   [ you had cases in february.]

27. Trump: when you- you- excuse me. you reported it. 

28. ZERO CASES, ZERO DEATHS on january seventeenth =

29. rep: = in january. [ february, the entire month of february.

30. Trump: [ janua- I said in january.]

31. rep: the video has a complete [ gap the month of february. =

32. Trump:         [ on January thirtieth, ]

33. rep: = what did your administration do in february 

34. with the time that your travel ban bought [ you?

35. Trump: [ a LOT. =

36. rep: = what?

37. Trump: a lot. and in fact, we’ll give you a list (.) what we did

38. in fact, part of it was up there (.)[ we did a lot. =

39. rep:         [ it wasn't up there. the video had a gap.]

40. Trump: look, (.) look, (.5) you know you're a fake. (.5) you know that. 

41. your whole network the way you cover it (.) is fake. 

42. and most of you- (.) and not all of you, (.) but the people are wise to you. 

43. that's why you have a lower- a lower approval rating 

44. than you’ve ever had before (.)  ↑times probably three.

45. rep: [ twenty million people are now unemployed, =

46. Trump: [ and when you ask me that question =

47. rep: = tens of thousands are dead, mr. president ]

48. Trump:         = let me ask you this. why didn't biden- ] why didn't-

49. why did Biden apologize? why did he write a letter of [ apology (.) ]

50. rep:         [ I don’t think that 

51. people right now [ care about why Joe Biden didn’t apologize to you sir.] =

52. Trump:       [ NO, that's very important.]

53. Trump: = WHY did the democrats think that I acted too quickly? you KNOW why?

54. because they really thought that I acted too quickly.

55. [ we have done a great job =

56. rep: [ so, you definitely (inaudible) ]

57.Trump: = NOW, I could have- (.5) I could've (.) kept it open 

58. and I could have done what some countries are doing. (.) 

59. they're getting (.) beat up pretty badly. (.) I could've kept it open. 

60. I thought of keeping it open, (.) because nobody's ever heard of 

61. closing down a country, let alone the united states of america. 

62. but if I would've done that, we would have had 

63. hundreds of thousands of people that would right now be dead.

64. we've done this right, and we- we really- 

65. we really have done this right. 

66. the problem is the press (.) doesn't cover it the way it should be. 

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