#AmericaFirst vs #primagliitaliani: A Corpus-Assisted CDA of Trump’s and Salvini’s Twitter Communications

Globalisation, financial crisis, immigration and terrorism have opened the door to the populist and anti-establishment surge which has swept through the Western world. Many have criticised institutions for defending the rights of ‘others’, at the expense of the welfare, traditions and safety of a presumed majority. Nationalist parties, Brexiteers and the US President Trump have skilfully exploited such issues for political advantage, while scapegoating refugees and minorities. Populist movements have been favoured by the Internet revolution and social media which, democratising information and communication, supported the reproduction of fake news and hate speech. Political leaders’ media-savvy performance has become crucial in consensus-building, a tendency clearly evidenced in the last US and Italian elections and governments. Trump’s communicative style through the social media, in particular, reflects a trend towards de-professionalisation and celebrity culture in political discourse. Similar attitudes have been shown by the Italian Lega leader, Matteo Salvini, who transformed a north-based party into a national force, capitalising on popular frustration and xenophobia. The present chapter investigates the analogies between the political discourse constructed on Twitter by Trump and Salvini. By combining Corpus Linguistics with Critical Discourse Analysis, the study examines a collection of tweets published on the official accounts @realDonaldTrump and @matteosalvinimi. The analysis focuses on the discursive construction of the political leader, presenting himself as a champion of the interests of his people against its numerous enemies. The investigation takes into consideration how the features of the microblogging medium influence the short messages produced, often characterised by impulsiveness, sensationalism and emotive language.