Davania, Ariella (2026) DONALD TRUMP’S SECOND-TERM RHETORIC ON “ILLEGAL ALIENS” IN THE POST-TRUTH ERA An Analysis of The Joint Session of Congress Address and The “Big Bill” Event Speech. Undergraduate thesis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya.

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Abstract

This study examines US President Donald Trump's rhetoric toward
immigration and "illegal aliens" by focusing on two speeches he gave during his
second term in office: "Speech to a Joint Session of Congress," which was given on
March 4, 2025, and "Address at the "Big Bill" Event," which was given on June 27,
2025. This study aims to find out how Trump uses the classical appeals; pathos,
ethos, logos, and kairos, to advance a dehumanizing narrative about immigration
that prioritizes emotional impact over verifiable facts by using rhetorical analysis
and post-truth theory. The use of dehumanizing language, military and overflow
metaphors to represent the "existential" threat of immigration, and victim narratives
in place data and empirical proof are all examples of how pathos rules Trump's
discourse. By weakening the authority of all other people and their opinions, ethos
operates in a subtractive manner. By using invalid statistics and false cause-andeffect narratives, Logos mimic logical arguments. Finally, kairos removes any
opportunity for reflection by creating a sense of urgency in the present. The denial
on reality, the power repetition, the aggressive invalidation institutional
competence, and the inferiority of fact emotion are all examples of post-truth.
Keywords: Donald Trump, Immigration, Post-truth, Rhetoric, Speech.

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