Representation of Donald Trump in The New York Times: a corpus‑assisted discourse analysis of the first 51 days of his second term

Abstract

This thesis examines how The New York Times represents Donald Trump during the first 51 days of his second presidential term, with a focus on the portrayal of his early immigration-related decisions, using corpus-assisted discourse analysis. Trump’s confrontational communication style and lasting conflict with traditional media, especially The New York Times, make this an important area of study. By analysing a period for which little academic research currently exists, the thesis provides new insight into how a major U.S. newspaper constructs its coverage of Trump and his early policy actions. The first section of the thesis reviews research on media discourse, the representation of marginalised groups and previous studies on Trump and the media. The second section outlines the data and methodology. The analysis then examines how The New York Times portrays Trump as a political figure and his immigration decisions. Keywords: corpus-assisted discourse studies, media discourse, Donald Trump