‘Fight, fight, fight!’ or ‘UNITE’? At historic moment, Trump faces rhetorical choice

Kevin Rector | (TNS) Los Angeles Times

When Jennifer Mercieca published a book four years ago titled “Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump,” some of her friends immediately questioned the title. “‘Genius’?” they asked. “Really?”

Mercieca stood by it. She told her friends that, over her many years studying the former president, Trump’s ability to use words and images to promote himself and his agenda stood out again and again as exceptional.

That same...