Expert can comment on President Trump’s address to Congress

LAWRENCE – If past is prologue, President Donald Trump will double down on the nationalist populist themes that animate his MAGA movement in his first post-reelection remarks to Congress Tuesday evening.

Robert Rowland, a University of Kansas professor of communication studies and expert on presidential rhetoric, is available to journalists to comment upon the address, which substitutes for a State of the Union address in election years, either before or immediately after the speech.

Rowland is the author of the 2021 book “The Rhetoric of Donald Trump: Nationalist Populism and American Democracy”(University of Kansas Press). 

“President Trump’s political brand of nationalist populism, which he often supports with grandiose claims about his personal leadership and accomplishments, contrasts sharply with the norm for presidential addresses,” Rowland said.

“On Tuesday, Trump will be forced to choose between restating basic American values, a focus of most State of the Union addresses, and using his rhetoric to express grievances toward perceived enemies and to score points with — and often at the expense of — the press. 

“Given his previous track record, it seems likely that President Trump will attempt to bend the form of presidential addresses to Congress to fit the themes that dominate his rally and other rhetoric. He will transform the speech to Congress into something approximating the message and style of a MAGA rally.”