POLITICAL COMMUNICATIONS OF DONALD TRUMP AND RISE OF INTRA-SOCIETAL INSTABILITY IN THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was answering two research questions. How could Trump’s administration (2025-2029) likely impact the rise of intra-societal instability in the United States? How could Donald Trump’s political communications likely enable the impact of increasing intra-societal instability in the United States? Existing studies had not answered these research questions sufficiently or needed to expand the domestic focus. As a method, the theory of Historical Cycles of cultural-historical philosopher Oswald Spengler was applied in form of a political-historical comparison between the Gracchi movement from ancient Rome and Trumpism (2017-2029) in the US. Findings from the model-derived projection revealed that Trump could cause a more severe constitutional crisis than during his first presidency, leading to deeper US societal division. The most significant events could take place towards the end of Trump’s second administration. The political communications of media personality Trump, based on his social media and TV use, have the potential to contribute to deeper division in the USA. Trump could lose some media support towards the end of his presidency, in alignment with his declining popularity. Trumpism marked the first phase of a century-long internal conflict between populist forces and the US political establishment.

Keywords: Donald Trump, Political Communications, Intra-Societal Instability, Tiberius Gracchus, Oswald Spengler