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<p>American presidents have frequently invoked the concept of evil to condemn foreign enemies: Ronald Reagan, for example, denounced the “evil empire” of the Soviet Union, and George W. Bush grouped Iran, Iraq, and North Korea as an “axis of evil.” This study analyzes Donald J. Trump’s historically distinctive use of the term. A structured typology was used to code 750 public instances in which Trump employed the word <i>evil</i> between 2015 and 2025. Developments in this usage over time reveal a significant shift: Until the end of his first term, Trump predominantly used the word to describe foreign threats such as ISIS, Islamist terrorists, and criminal immigrants. Afterward, and in the wake of the January 6 Capitol riot and his subsequent second impeachment, Trump primarily invoked the evil of domestic political antagonists, including Democrats, electoral rivals, federal prosecutors, critical news outlets, and covert agents of the state apparatus. By contrast, separate reviews of previous presidents’ use of <i>evil</i> reveal that none applied it to domestic political opponents. These developments indicate that, for Trump and many of his supporters, the political threat from within has come to seem as irredeemably malevolent as any external enemy. The same developments therefore also serve as a microcosm of the intensifying political polarization and partisan animosity in 21st-century America.</p>

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Speaking “Evil”: Quantifying Donald Trump’s Demonization of Political Opponents and Other Targets

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月16日

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  • Jens Kjeldgaard-Christiansen

摘要

American presidents have frequently invoked the concept of evil to condemn foreign enemies: Ronald Reagan, for example, denounced the “evil empire” of the Soviet Union, and George W. Bush grouped Iran, Iraq, and North Korea as an “axis of evil.” This study analyzes Donald J. Trump’s historically distinctive use of the term. A structured typology was used to code 750 public instances in which Trump employed the word evil between 2015 and 2025. Developments in this usage over time reveal a significant shift: Until the end of his first term, Trump predominantly used the word to describe foreign threats such as ISIS, Islamist terrorists, and criminal immigrants. Afterward, and in the wake of the January 6 Capitol riot and his subsequent second impeachment, Trump primarily invoked the evil of domestic political antagonists, including Democrats, electoral rivals, federal prosecutors, critical news outlets, and covert agents of the state apparatus. By contrast, separate reviews of previous presidents’ use of evil reveal that none applied it to domestic political opponents. These developments indicate that, for Trump and many of his supporters, the political threat from within has come to seem as irredeemably malevolent as any external enemy. The same developments therefore also serve as a microcosm of the intensifying political polarization and partisan animosity in 21st-century America.