Resolute Square

Jennifer Mercieca

Award-Winning Professor, Author, and Resolute Square Contributor

About Jennifer Mercieca

Dr. Jennifer Mercieca is an award-winning Professor in the Department of Communication & Journalism at Texas A&M University. She writes about American political discourse, especially as it relates to citizenship, democracy, and the presidency. Jennifer has published three books: Founding Fictions, The Rhetoric of Heroic Expectations: Establishing the Obama Presidency, and Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump.

Her 2020 book on Donald Trump’s rhetoric (Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump) was reviewed in the Washington Post, which said, “it deserves a place alongside George Orwell’s ‘Politics and the English Language’ and Harry G. Frankfurt’s ‘On Bulls---.’ It’s a brilliant dissertation on Trump’s patented brand of balderdash. That makes it one of the most important political books of this perilous summer.” Reviews in Politico and Salon called the book a “must read” and “highly recommended.”

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Latest
Why Trump’s Supporters Want The Long Con
Dr. Jennifer Mercieca examines how Donald Trump used communication to con his supporters and suggests strategies to cool out his marks and defend democracy in America.
Donald Trump The Proud BoysRepublican Party
September 12, 2023
Attacking Democracy: It’s All Upside For Trump
Violence is essential to fascism, as Benito Mussolini explained: “fascism does not, generally speaking, believe in the possibility or utility of perpetual peace.”
Donald Trump indictmentFascismDefending Democracy
August 16, 2023
Rhetorical Tricks New
Propaganda Power of Nostalgia
Jen Mercieca warns of the propaganda power of nostalgia: Your memories about the past are incomplete, easily shaped by others, and a vulnerability to propaganda. Fascists know that.
The Ultra MAGA MovementDonald Trump Ron DeSantis
July 7, 2023
Rhetorical Tricks New
Trump Violates Democracy on CNN
"Trump has not changed. Trump will not change. Trump continues to be a threat to the United States and the free world—and Republican audiences still love it," writes Jen Mercieca after CNN's 90-minute demagogue festival.
Donald Trump CNNDefending Democracy
May 11, 2023
Rhetorical Tricks New
Tucker Carlson's Show Was Bad For America
White genocide, fake vaccines, Ukrainian bio-labs? Tucker has spent his time at Fox pushing a whole lot of poison into the American public.
Tucker CarlsonUkraineFox News
April 27, 2023
Rhetorical Tricks New
Oh Yes, He’s The Great Pretender
America has a President of the United States and a Pretender in the United States. When it comes to Trump, playing pretend is no game and this time, the media can't come to play.
Human rightsJoe BidenDonald Trump
April 6, 2023
Rhetorical Tricks New
Trump Might Still Be Awaiting Indictment, But Stormy Daniels Has Already Won.
With Trump's indictment looming, the culmination of a 17-year battle is upon us. But Jen Mercieca writes that we don't need to wait to see who won in the grand scheme. Way to reclaim your humanity, Stormy Daniels!
Donald Trump Donald Trump indictmentThreats to Democracy
March 23, 2023
Distinction without a Difference: Weirdifying Anti-Trans Discourse
Conservatives like Michael Knowles have made it clear that their goal is to erase trans people from existence - with GOP laws already attempting to forcibly detransition people in the south. Jen breaks down how to dissect this anti-trans rhetoric and weirdify it.
Republican PartyDefending DemocracyFox News
March 8, 2023
Rhetorical Tricks compact
Biden Weirdifies Putin’s War Propaganda
At every turn leading up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Putin and his mouthpieces lied about their intentions and Biden and his team weirdified them.
Joe BidenVladimir PutinRussian Federation
February 23, 2023
Rhetorical Tricks compact
How To Save Democracy: Weirdify Fascism
Fascists want to control what we talk about and how we think about it. To save democracy, we have to weirdify what fascists desperately want to make normal.
Defending DemocracyRight Wing mediaNazi and neo-Nazis
February 8, 2023
Rhetorical Tricks compact
Why Some Will Forever Buy The Big Lie
Some will never quit believing Trump's big lie and he has proven that he'll never stop telling it. Jen Mercieca explains why this conspiracy works despite the facts.
The Big LieDonald Trump MAGA’s hold on the GOP
January 26, 2023
Rhetorical Tricks compact
The Truth About Conspiracy Theory
We're wired to find conspiracies appealing, but they are a trap door into a maze. But unlike a maze, the conspiracy makes our brain less capable of finding the way out - or even wanting to.
The Ultra MAGA MovementMAGA’s hold on the GOPTucker Carlson
January 12, 2023
Rhetorical Tricks compact
Ideas Are Weapons: the Overton Window And Fascism
Propagandists use “conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses.” Why? Because it works.
The Ultra MAGA MovementFox News
December 29, 2022

Topics

Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Twice-impeached 45th POTUS and wannabe authoritarian dictator who orchestrated a violent insurrection to overthrow the US Government in order to remain president despite losing re-election to Joseph R. Biden by 7,059,547 votes.
Donald Trump indictment
Donald Trump indictment
Some say fever dream. Others say inevitable. We say, no democracy can survive without accountability mete out through the rule of law, and its equal application regardless of status, power, or position. The threat of the GOP's fascistic authoritarian movement increases with the belief that there is no accountability for people at the top.
Joe Biden
Joe Biden
President of the United States since 2021
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Ukraine
Ukraine
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism has been making progress in the US for years. Today, that movement is best known as the Republican Party. We will stop them.
Defending Democracy
Defending Democracy
Democracy is under attack. The authoritarian GOP knows they can't win if democracy does, so they attack voting rights and Civil Rights. They are wrong. We are right.
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