Conceptual Metaphors in Obama’s and Trump’s Inaugural Speeches: Some Similarities and Differences

Abstract

This study investigates the conceptual metaphors employed in the inaugural speeches of Barack Obama (2009) and Donald Trump (2017). The Metaphor Identification Procedure (Pragglejaz Group, 2007) is used to systematically identify, categorize, and compare common source domains and typical conceptual metaphors across the two speeches. The quantitative method is employed to count the number of both source domains and conceptual metaphors. The results reveal that Obama and Trump draw on universally source domains such as HUMAN / PERSON, JOURNEY, BUILDING, FAMILY, WAR, PLANT and ANIMAL, reflecting common cognitive structures and the generic conventions of inaugural rhetoric. The results also show that typical conceptual metaphors used by both politicians are NATION IS A PERSON, POLITICS IS A JOURNEY, NATION IS A BUILDING, NATION IS A FAMILY, POLITICS IS A WAR, NATION IS A TREE/PLANT.  However, their dominant metaphors diverge markedly along ideological lines. Particularly, Obama's rhetoric is defined primarily by the JOURNEY, BUILDING, and FAMILY metaphors, constructing national identity as a collaborative, inclusive, and forward-moving project, while Trump's is defined by the WAR, DECAY and RESTORATION, BODY and HEALTH metaphors, framing political reality as adversarial conflict and national decline requiring restorative intervention. These differences are shown to reflect and reproduce opposing ideological visions rooted in their respective party traditions. The findings confirm the complementarity of CMT and CDA for the analysis of political discourses contributing to empirical research on American presidential discourses and underscoring the importance of metaphor awareness for critical engagement with political language.