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Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Restricted Thesis: Campus only access

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Guzel Garifullina

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to better understand how leaders can adapt populist rhetoric, specifically around foreign policy, an under explored topic in the literature. To do this, I analyzed President Donald Trump’s 2016 and 2024 campaign speeches, using the dictionary method to identify discussions of foreign policy and, subsequently, markers of populist rhetoric within these foreign policy discussions. Results show that Trump’s populist rhetoric was slightly more pronounced in 2016 than in 2024, appeared more in non-Rust Belt than Rust Belt areas, and was steady throughout urban and non-urban locations. These findings indicate that, Trump used less populist rhetoric in foreign policy over time, and, contrary to expectations, less so in Rust Belt areas, which were heavily impacted by globalization. Together, these results demonstrate that Trump adapted his populist foreign policy rhetoric regionally while sustaining it across both campaigns.

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