Mr. Book just finished Demagogue For President: The Rhetorical Genius Of Donald Trump, by Jennifer R Mercieca.

This book was published in 2020.

This book looks at six strategies that Trump used to gain the White House the first time: ad populum (claiming something is true because it’s popular or he’s right because he has a lot of supports), ad baculum (threats of violence or other retribution), deification (anyone who doesn’t agree is subhuman), ad hominem (attacks on the person rather than substance of the argument), paralipis (making claims, but denying they come from him) and American exceptionalism.

There are 18 chapters, each covering a different rally, TV appearance or interview in which one of these strategies were used. The book did a very good job both showing how Trump was using the techniques, as well as the threat that he poses to the country. While is was written pre-January 6, it foreshadows those events.

I give this book an A.

Goodreads requires grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at Mr. Book’s Book Reviews, and Goodreads.

Mr. Book finished reading this on December 14, 2024.