Robert C. Rowland’s book, The Rhetoric of Donald Trump: Nationalist Populism and American Democracy, examines how Trump leverages nationalist populist language to his advantage. Rowland considers Trump’s rhetoric as both a candidate and a sitting president. He explores Trump’s usage of outsider language, continuous campaigning toward his base, the importance of his social media, and finally, the overarching concerns Trump poses for our system. Rowland focuses on Trump’s ability to rally audiences with his dystopian imagery and essentially frog march them toward his version of reality. On Rowland’s account, Trump cows them into obedience with rhetorical tactics that simultaneously excite and horrify. Donald Trump paints anyone who does not fully embrace his worldview as the “other”— rather than simply people with differing opinions. Instead, they are an evil, which makes any compromise with their points of view unacceptable (p. 16).

Rowland’s book is a careful examination of national populism’s various manifestations and the ways Trump uses populist rhetoric for his own personal advantage. He attempts to explain not just what happened but why events followed the particular trajectory they did by focusing on the classic tactics and techniques deployed by Trump to galvanize and inculcate support among his political base. Rowland’s book is not exactly a fun read, but it is a necessary one. Any scholar who is serious about dissecting the Trump administration should read it carefully for his insights into the tools Trump deployed to achieve his ends. Those of us who pay attention to presidential rhetoric see the commonalities with other historical and modern populist politicians, both domestic and foreign. Many scholars are concerned that Trump’s nationalist populist language as not an archaic throwback but rather a harbinger of a prolonged shift in American political communication styles. Other politicians are already parroting Trump’s tactics and verbal style in hopes of replicating his electoral success.

Rowland worries about the lasting impact of nationalist populism on American democracy. He rightly points out that, as president, Trump was not trying to improve the world for the working class. Instead, he used his platform “to serve as a primal scream expressing the anger of this group at the system” (p. 159). My own concerns largely lie within the ways Trump exploits theatrical entertainment tactics to activate the same touchstones within the public while simultaneously making people feel as if they are “insiders” who have an advantage over everyone else. Rowland offers a very serious analysis of Trump that is, on many levels, spot on, but he does not seem to grapple with the dangers associated with pageantry and showmanship. Trump’s supporters are not rubes. They are people who have felt abandoned by politics. They embrace the entertainment and revel in the irritation and kowtowing from political insiders toward a person who at the very least pays lip service to their concerns.

Over the last several years, I have found myself often rereading Stanley B. Greenberg’s Middle Class Dreams: The Politics and Power of the New American Majority (1995). His analysis of why Michigan Democrats supported Ronald Reagan in the 1980s still stands out as one of the better explanations for why anger drives appeal. Reagan offered an optimistic vision for groups that felt betrayed and ignored. Donald Trump borrowed heavily from Reagan’s playbook in Michigan to propel himself toward an unlikely win there in 2016. Although Greenberg never grappled explicitly with nationalist populism in the same way as Rowland, both are looking at similar populations. Greenberg’s earlier work now reads as an early foretelling of many the things Rowland shows have occurred within American society.

Rowland has serious concerns about the destabilization Trump has wrought on American democracy. Trump’s blatant and pervasive lying, use of conspiracy theories, and disdain for a free and open press have shaken us to our very core. Trump has embraced polarization to a point that loyal partisanship supplants the functioning of an ethical and responsible government. Rowland therefore correctly points out that these concerns have created a situation where “a skillful leader could use a rhetoric of nationalist populism to mobilize voters to support authoritarian policies” (p. 171).

This book reads as a warning claxon for people troubled about the implications of Donald Trump’s rhetorical tactics and antics. However, Rowland does end the book with a positive reminder that “support for the basic principles of democracy remains strong” (p. 179), even while raising concerns about democratic erosion. He suggests that “facts seem considerably less stubborn than in the past” (p. 180), which I would like to push even a bit further. Donald Trump has been instrumental in bending narratives to his own will. He has morphed definitions of words and recollections to conform to his desires. For example, the term, “fake news,” no longer truly means fictitious material. It means information that he disagrees with and signals to his supporters to discount. Similarly, his administration provided “alternative facts” to make things appear more favorable or palatable toward Trump. Fabricated accounts by Trump and his allies are normalized as ways to both lionize Trump and demonize detractors.

Rowland, although worried, seems to feel that democracy will endure, although it has been rattled by the Trump administration. My concerns lie with the very definitions of American democracy. Donald Trump has warped words, expectations, rhetoric, and events to distort perception in his favor. He attempted the same with United States elections and institutions to reject mass democracy for his own personal preference. Do the tenets of American democracy rest on bedrock or shifting sands? For generations, scholars have assumed that these institutions and their norms are robust and capable of withstanding the occasional tornadoes of history. Donald Trump’s actions have raised serious concerns about the stability of our structures. Will he and his followers change the definitions and expectations of democracy enough to call into question our longstanding notions of what constitutes a free and open society?

The Rhetoric of Donald Trump offers a thoughtful and well-written account of Trump’s national populist language. Those who are interested in rhetoric and its implications should find it an important and useful read. Others who study populism within systems should also pay attention to this book for its careful look at the specific rhetorical veins that Trump employed. This work will likely stand as a frequent reference to better understand the Trump administration’s place in history.