Metaphor in Political Speech : An analysis of speeches by Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in the US presidential election 2024

This study investigates the use of metaphor in the political speeches of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris during the USA presidential election in 2024. The study aims to determine the types of metaphors used as well as identifying factors about the ideologies and world views of the respective candidates revealed by their use of metaphor. It features 10 instances of metaphor per speech collected from twelve political speeches by Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in 2024 during their individual political gatherings, leading to a total of 120 instances of metaphor. The collection of data involves the method of Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP) while simultaneously excluding so-called “dead” metaphors. The results suggest that the candidates both use a variety of metaphors to convey their messages, sharing some similarity while also showing differences. The two most common conceptual metaphors found within the data is POLITICS IS WAR and SOCIETY IS A LIVING BEING. Furthermore, it is found that Trump utilises more negative and aggressive metaphors in comparison to Harris, while Harris in part uses more defensive and positive metaphors. Additionally, the metaphors used provide insight into the various rhetorical strategies used by the candidates. The language used also reveals various aspects of the respective ideologies and world views of the candidates. Further research with alternative methods such as asking audience members how they perceive the metaphors would enable verification of the metaphors’ actual effect, which was not possible to assess in the present study.