Date of Graduation

5-2026

Degree Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Advisor(s)

Johanna Quinn

Abstract

One of the campaign strategies pursued by the Democratic Party in the 2024 presidential election was the use of a felon-centered discourse when discussing Donald Trump. Through the use of such discursive strategies, the Democratic Party attempted to evoke the sense of fear typically associated with discussions of crime, hoping to make voters associate the “fear” with Trump, a white man. In the media, the language used in speeches and advertising campaigns serves as a powerful tool. The current literature discusses how language operates as a “representational system,” and ultimately, words serve to give meaning. Although many articles separately discuss black criminality and rhetoric, few articles discuss the intersection of rhetoric, anti-blackness, and criminality. By building upon Michael Coyle’s concept of “the language of justice” this paper examines how all political parties use similar language when discussing criminal justice. The words used to discuss criminal justice often reinforce the system without offering an opportunity to actively critique it. This paper applies Norman Fairclough’s “Critical Discourse Analysis” framework to three key moments in the campaign where Trump’s criminality was referenced during official engagements. The results suggest that, in the 2024 election, the Democratic Party, which often labels itself as the more inclusive party and is reliant on the votes of black people, weaponized Trump’s criminality, turning a human rights issue into a campaign strategy. Ultimately, the Democratic Party reinscribed the negative connotations of the felon label, having real ramifications for the millions of black and brown people in the United States, to whom the label is unfairly applied. This paper calls attention to the failure of the Democratic Party to represent and protect Black people in America by demonstrating the ways the party willingly used language that perpetuates racialized violence.

Download

Share

COinS