OnPolitics: How Trump uses inflammatory language to energize his base
Hey OnPolitics readers! Former President Donald Trump has been open about deliberately using inflammatory words to attract attention in the 2024 presidential race.
It is a style that excites his conservative base as a leader who rejects the supposed political correctness imposed by liberal Democrats, Paste BN’s Phillip Bailey reported. But it is something that alarms detractors and frightens experts who described it as an authoritarian-leaning campaign, especially in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol led by Trump's supporters.
🔥Metaphor or nah, Trump uses this sort of language — a lot: Sometimes it's direct and profane; other times it is suggestive enough to give the presumptive GOP nominee wiggle room to deny Democratic claims. But it's always meant to get a reaction, whether from allies or critics, especially on hot-button topics such as immigration and crime.
Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide
The Jan. 6 anxiety: The 2021 Capitol riot saw roughly 140 police officers injured and hundreds of individuals charged with trying to overturn the 2020 election. That Trump was the "central cause" of the attack, according to a 2022 House investigative committee report, is often lost in the day-to-day campaign coverage.
💩Potty mouth presidents: Trump has helped usher in a new era of foul-mouthed elected officials and candidates who would have made previous generations blush. At a rally in Georgia, for example, Trump said everything Biden touches “turns to sh--."
Read more: Potty mouth president: 3 takeaways on Trump's 'bloodbath' rhetoric
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