Week 1: Introduction And Context

Hello, my name is Benjamin Wilson and my AP Research project focuses on presidential debates. Presidential debates say a lot about our society with regards to what we accept and what we don’t. In particular, we may look to the participants as role models of how to act and what’s acceptable.

One of the more memorable recent debate performances comes from Donald Trump during the 2016 debates. Donald Trump’s discursive style received a lot of attention during his campaign and his presidency for its more colloquial and unique style. In particular, during these debates, Trump violated a lot of norms that had been taken for granted by previous participants in these debates, including the use of false claims, excessive exaggeration of issues, and points difficult to understand. Many people speculated that Trump wouldn’t be successful in the 2016 race because his unusual and inappropriate behavior would have disqualified him from being elected, however, his victory in 2016 demonstrates such norm violations were accepted by the American public.

Trump’s victory raises a lot of questions. Focusing specifically on a few select candidates who ran in the 2022 midterms, I seek to answer the question of what’s acceptable and unacceptable in the eyes of the American public, which helps provide research with some direction for answering the above questions. In addition, while countless research exists on analyzing presidential debates, their rhetoric, and their influences, very little research on other debates is out there, which is why my study of select candidates for governors and senate seats will help in beginning to fill this gap.

While researching, I may encounter information that helps fill in other gaps in our understanding of rhetoric, the standard of deliberation (what’s acceptable by the American public), and the influence Trump may have on similar speakers. I wonder if elements of Trump’s speaking style have even been attractive to other candidates appealing to a similar base of voters given his results. In addition, I wish to find out if Trump’s violations of this standard of deliberation are an anomaly or the start of a trend in US Politics. Thank you for reading, and I hope you stay with me on my research journey!