VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* VU THI LUYEN A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Every four years, citizens in the United States of America are presented with an opportunity to elect a new president The election days typically occur on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November (USA Government, 2023) The presidential election is a complex process that follows a ‗presidential election cycle‘ Leading up to the election day, candidates participate in numerous events, such as primaries, debates, and conventions During these events, the candidates address the audience, specifically American voters, by discussing various relevant sociopolitical and economic topics Ultimately, the candidates attempt to persuade the audience to vote for them through their actions and words throughout their campaigning period
The previous election was held in 2020 and the upcoming election will be in 2024 The 2020 election was unique in that it took place during the global COVID-19 pandemic The Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, and the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, were the two main candidates (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2023) On election day, November 3, it was initially unclear who would win as key states continued counting a huge volume of mail-in ballots Over the next few days, Biden was projected to win and on November 7, most media outlets had revealed that Biden was the winner On January 20, Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States of America (Collinson and Reston, 2020) During Biden‘s campaign, he communicated with the American people extensively through his debates,
2 advertisements, primaries, and more He engaged in discourse with his audience and opponents in order to persuade America that he was the best candidate for presidency In the end, his persuasive efforts succeeded and he was democratically determined to be the most suitable person for presidency
To better understand the use of language in social contexts, such as political discourse, critical discourse analysis (CDA) can be applied According to Fairclough (2013), CDA is a form of research and analysis that is ―is part of some form of systematic transdisciplinary analysis of relations between discourse and other elements of the social process‖, includes the systematic analysis of texts, and addresses social injustices in discourse (p 27) CDA also examines the interplay between language, power, and ideology and how those in power employ language to maintain their dominant position (Tian, 2021) As such, CDA can help people to understand how discourse is used by influential individuals either for good or for bad.
Statement of the problem
Political campaign speeches play a vital role in how candidates communicate their ideologies, vision, values, and policy positions to voters The language used in these speeches provides insights into how politicians construct their messaging to appeal to the audience Moreover, language in political speeches can reveal to what extent and how politicians express their power Both an awareness of politician‘s ideology and power are essential for determining the suitability of a candidate for an influential position, such as the presidency
Previous studies have investigated the ideologies expressed by political speakers and how these ideologies were presented For example, Wang (2010) examined two of Obama‘s presidential speeches to reveal how ideology is connected to language Nga (2019) explored ideological power relations of globalization discourse in WTO Director-General Mike Moore‘s speech and Tran and Pham (2023) studied the ideologies embedded in President Biden's 2021 inaugural speech Previous studies have also investigated how political speakers express power in their discourse
Nguyen and Sawalmeh (2020) analyzed the strategies used by Donald Trump in his first presidential debate in 2016; Susilowati and Ulkhasanah (2020) examined how Trump communicated power in his 2017 speech about Israel; and Xinin and Xiaolan (2022) investigated how language was used in Donald Trump‘s and Joe Biden‘s inaugural speeches to influence audiences and achieve their political goals These studies demonstrate how a critical discourse analysis study can provide insight into speakers‘ ideologies and how they use language to achieve certain political goals
CDA was chosen as the approach for analyzing Biden‘s speeches for two main reasons Firstly, CDA is suitable for the analysis of political discourse by not only analyzing the language itself, but also the use of language in social contexts Secondly, CDA has been used frequently in previous studies that investigated the ideologies expressed by political speakers By applying CDA, I could identify the beliefs of Joe Biden as expressed in his speeches, examine the linguistic constructions of those beliefs, and investigate the reasons behind the expression of those beliefs.
Research aims and questions
This study aims to critically analyze the discourses of Joe Biden during his political campaign In particular, I aim to determine Joe Biden‘s ideologies and the use of discursive resources to communicate these ideologies His ideologies expressed in his presidential speeches are understood as his beliefs Additionally, this study examines how Joe Biden expresses power in his discourse Based on these aims, I have determined the following research questions:
1 What are the beliefs of Joe Biden?
2 How are they (Biden‘s beliefs) linguistically constructed?
3 Why did Joe Biden express such beliefs in the speeches?
Significance of the study
This study is expected to provide insight into how presidential candidates like Joe Biden use language strategically during political campaigns to empower themselves and promote their ideology By examining Joe Biden‘s discourse using Fairclough‘s
4 approach to CDA, the linguistic resources used to communicate his ideologies can be revealed This is important because language is a key tool that candidates use to shape their image, discuss issues in their favor, and gain the approval of voters.
Scope of the study
This study examines two of Joe Biden‘s speeches during his 2020 presidential campaign These speeches are his Democratic National Convention address on August 20 (CNN, 2020) and his Gettysburg address on October 6 (Biden, 2020) Since Joe Biden was not only one of the main candidates, but also won the election, he is a suitable example of the successful implementation of linguistic techniques to establish influence and power Moreover, since he is the current president of the U.S., it is important to be aware of his ideologies as they can greatly impact the future of America and its people.
Structure of the thesis
This thesis will be divided into five main chapters
Chapter 1 This is the introduction chapter This chapter introduces the thesis by presenting a background of the study along with a statement of the problem Following, the research aims and questions are presented The significance and scope of the study are also ed
Chapter 2 This is the literature review chapter This chapter reviews concepts such as the American politics and critical discourse analysis This chapter also reviews previous studies that critically analyzed the discourse of political figures
Chapter 3 This is the methodology chapter This chapter presents the research method of the study, including the research approach, sample, data collection procedures, and data analysis techniques
Chapter 4 This is the findings and discussion chapter This chapter shows the results of the analysis of the speeches and consequently discusses the findings in the context of the research questions
Chapter 5 This is the conclusion chapter This chapter summarizes the main findings of the thesis, describes the implications of the study, and recommends
LITERATURE REVIEW
American political and social context
The American presidential election takes place every four years on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November According to USA Government (2023), the presidential election follows a specific sequence of events, as follows:
• Candidate registration In the Spring before the election year, candidates must register with the Federal Election Commission To qualify for presidential candidacy, the individual must be a natural-born citizen of the U.S.A., 35 years or older, reside in America for at least 14 years, and raise more than $5,000 for their presidential campaign After registration is completed, candidates can announce their intentions to run for office
• Primaries and caucuses Primaries are events organized by state and local governments, whereas caucuses are privately organized by political parties (US Mission Thailand, 2020) During primaries and caucuses, the candidates debate various issues, and voters cast their ballots
• Nominating conventions Large political parties with numerous candidates choose a presidential and vice-presidential candidate from their pool of potential candidates Afterwards the selected presidential candidates will campaign throughout the country
• Presidential debates Candidates from different parties debate one another to gain the approval of the voters
• Election day American citizens who register can vote for one presidential
7 candidate from any of the participating parties However, the public's vote does not determine the winner Instead, the public‘s votes decide who will be the electors during the final voting stage (Waller, 2021)
• Electoral College votes Electors, who represent their states, cast votes to decide which candidate will be president
• Results and inauguration Once the Electoral College finishes voting, Congress counts the votes and announces the winner On January 20, the new president is inaugurated
2.1.2 Personal and political background of Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr was born in 1942 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the United States of America (Probasco, 2023) He graduated from the University of Delaware in 1961 with a history and political science degree In 1968, he earned a law degree from Syracuse University and worked as an attorney until 1970, when he began his political career
In 1973, he became a U.S senator from Delaware, a position he held for 36 years During his tenure as a senator, he supported various U.S foreign policy related to terrorism, nuclear weapons, and geopolitical issues in the Middle East and Southwest Asia Apart from his presidential campaign in 2020, Biden also attempted to run for the presidency in 1987 and 2008; though both attempts were unsuccessful In 2008, he became the vice president to Barack Obama, after which he oversaw several major political projects during his tenure
As the Democratic candidate, Biden won the 2020 presidential election and began implementing significant policy changes from the previous Trump administration (Probasco, 2023) These changes included permitting refugees from certain parts of the world entering America, eliminating the separation of refugee families at the border, and supporting the increase of the federal minimum wage to $15 The goals of Biden‘s administration are to address COVID-19, climate change, racial equity, the economy, health care, immigration, and America‘s position in the world (The White House, 2024) Concerning his political positions, Biden supports women‘s
8 reproductive rights, opposes pollution by encouraging eco-friendly practices, supports LGBTQIA+ rights, and supports stricter gun regulation (Probasco, 2023)
2.1.3 American context during the U.S elections in 2020
The condition surrounding the 2020 elections contributed to numerous challenges for both America and the world Covid-19 had become a pandemic and put tremendous stress on American healthcare According to Baccini et al (2021), the pandemic quickly became one of the most significant events in recent history The pandemic coincided with a presidential election year, which profoundly influenced the political landscape, especially for the main candidates
By the end of November 2020, the USA had reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases (over 8 million) and deaths (over 220,000) globally Criticism was directed at Trump‘s pandemic response, which diverged from strategies implemented by leaders in other Western democracies Considering the perceived failure of the Trump administration to effectively address the spread of the virus, other candidates, such as Joe Biden, had to propose compelling policies and strategies to combat the virus in case they were elected
Apart from confronting the Covid-19 pandemic, America was in a challenging economic state Pop (2022) attributes this economic decline to Covid-19, which caused millions of Americans to lose their jobs in response to social distancing measures and temporary business closures However, unemployment was not the only economic challenge in 2020 Silver (2023) explained that the U.S was engaged in a U.S.-China trade war at the time, which was initiated by former president Trump Moreover, there was a debt crisis with around 45 million people carrying a total of $1.54 trillion in student loan debt in the first quarter of 2020 (Silver, 2023) In addition, healthcare puts a tremendous financial strain on U.S citizens The healthcare situation in the United States has been characterized as high per-person spending compared to other countries, coupled with lower life expectancy (Silver, 2023) Coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic, the healthcare burden increased, prompting people to look for an administration which could ease
The political landscape of America during the election was also not favorable Dimock and Wike (2020) explained that the U.S faced deep political fissures due to disagreements between Democrats and Republicans on various issues like the economy, racial justice, and climate change The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the political divide with significant gaps in perceptions of how well the country handled the outbreak between Democrats and Republicans In particular, the Trump administration was heavily criticized for its inability to contain the virus Owing to this division, there was a desperate need for a leader capable of addressing the needs of all citizens, regardless of their political affiliations
2.1.4 Overview of the 2020 presidential election
The 2020 American presidential election was held on November 3, 2020, to determine the 47 th president of the United States The main presidential candidates were Donald Trump from the Republican party and Joe Biden from the Democrat party Both the electoral and national popular votes were in Joe Biden‘s favor For the electoral vote, Biden received 306 votes while Trump received 232 (Ballotpedia, n.d.) Furthermore, Biden won the national popular vote with 81.2 million votes, approximately 7 million votes more than Trump‘s 74.2 million votes On January
20, 2021, Joe Biden was sworn in as the president of the United States along with his vice president Kamala Harris
2.1.5 Significance of presidential speeches in political communication
Eshbaugh-Soha (2010) emphasized that speeches are a fundamental tool in modern presidential governance He stated that speeches enable presidents to communicate policy preferences and lead Congress, the media, and the public Moreover, Boltaeva (2021) explained that presidential speeches are powerful tools that can shape public opinion, establish authority, and convey vision They construct and reinforce national identity by expressing a vision for the country‘s future and defining the meaning behind being a citizen of that country In particular, speeches delivered on state occasions, such as the State of the Union Address, assert the
10 president‘s leadership and solidifies their position
2.1.6 Overview of the selected speeches
The following two speeches were selected for analysis in this study
2 Gettysburg address 6 th October, 2020 Gettysburg,
The Democratic National Convention is an event that happens every four years Democratic delegates that represent the 50 states of the U.S gather to select the presidential and vice presidential nominees for the presidential election (Levy,
Critical discourse analysis
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), as stated by Wodak and Meyer (2001), serves as an analytical framework aimed at revealing hidden meanings, thereby enhancing
11 clarity for audiences, while also delving into the examination of concepts such as power, dominance, control, and ideology within language Tehrani and Yeganeh
(1999) emphasized CDA's purpose of uncovering subtle ideological inferences and the imposition of power within texts that often go unnoticed Trask (2007) characterized CDA as focused on deciphering the intentions behind text creation, its intended audience, and any concealed motives, employing vocabulary and structural analysis to establish connections within the text and unearth concealed ideologies, power dynamics, dominance, inequalities, and injustices within discourse According to Richards and Schmidt (2010), CDA, as a form of discourse analysis, critically examines the way language is utilized, with a strong emphasis on addressing social issues, global concerns, and the integral role of discourse in the perpetuation of power, domination, ideologies, inequalities, and racism Widdowson (2007) underscores CDA's focus on criticizing the manipulation of language for ideological and powerful purposes Fairclough (2013) stated that CDA is an approach to analyzing language and communication Van Dijk (2015, p 466) stated that CDA is ―is discourse analytical research that primarily studies the way social-power abuse and inequality are enacted, reproduced, legitimated, and resisted by text and talk in the social and political context.‖
Several authors have described the properties of CDA, as shown in the following table
• It is not limited to the examination of discourse or texts but is an integral part of a comprehensive transdisciplinary analysis, focusing on the interconnectedness between discourse and various elements of the social process
• It employs a systematic approach for the analysis of texts, moving beyond general commentary to utilize structured methods and techniques that uncover the intricacies of language and communication
• It takes a normative and critical stance, going beyond mere description, and instead, it seeks to identify and address social injustices and disparities within the discursive aspects of society, offering critique and potential solutions through discourse and communication
• Its primary focus lies in social problems and political issues, as opposed to a detached examination of discourse structures divorced from their social and political contexts
• It often takes on a multidisciplinary approach
• Instead of simply describing discourse structures, it seeks to elucidate them by considering elements of social interaction, particularly social structure
• It concentrates on how discourse structures actively engage in enacting, confirming, legitimizing, reproducing, or challenging relationships of power abuse and dominance within society
• It considers discourse as a type of social practice, emphasizing that it is both influenced by and contributes to the contexts, institutions, and social structures in which it takes place
• Power, ideology, and critique are foundational principles in all CDA methodologies CDA seeks to unveil and scrutinize ideologies and power dynamics through systematic examination of semiotic information
• It is known for its diverse and versatile nature It engages with various aspects and incorporates interdisciplinary approaches to gain insights into intricate social phenomena
• CDA methodologies are geared towards addressing specific meanings and delving into semiotic data (whether written, spoken, or visual) to reveal underlying ideologies and power dynamics
• It acknowledges the importance of interdisciplinary methodologies to comprehensively understand and analyze complex social phenomena
• Although there is no universally accepted data collection method in CDA, many approaches rely on existing texts rather than generating research materials specifically
Apart from defining the properties of CDA, certain researchers in the field of
13 discourse analysis have proposed frameworks for CDA work One prominent framework is that of Fairclough (2013), who proposed a comprehensive approach to critical social research that aims to reveal social injustices and inequalities, understanding the obstacles to addressing these issues and exploring possibilities for change It centers on the complex relationships between discourse and other components of the social process, recognizing that discourse relates to power relations, institutions, beliefs, and more Fairclough described a transdisciplinary approach, merging CDA with theories like political economy and state theory Key concepts within this framework include social wrongs (injustices in need of resolution), dialectical relations (interdependent connections between different elements), semiosis (the abstract dimension of meaning-making), orders of discourse (configurations of genres, discourses, and styles within social practices), and texts (concrete instances of communication) The methodology of this framework involves stages such as identifying the semiotic aspect of a social wrong, recognizing obstacles, assessing the inherent relationship between the social order and the wrong, and exploring ways to overcome these challenges Fairclough's methodology places significant emphasis on understanding the dialectical relations between semiosis and other social elements by analyzing texts and orders of discourse in the context of practices/events and structures
Fairclough‘s model draws on Halliday‘s systemic functional linguistics (SFL) SFL was developed by Michael Halliday as a way to analyze language as a system of meanings and a system that creates meanings Schleppegrell & Oteiza (2023, 156) defined SFL as an approach that enables the exploration of ―meaning in language and of relating language use to social contexts‖ According to Statham (2021), it is an approach that considers the relationship between language and social structure Halliday and Matthiessen (2004) explained that SFL theory posits that language exists in five dimensions: structure, system, stratification, instantiation, and metafunction Metafunction is often examined in CDA studies applying SFL There are three metafunctions, the first of which is ideational metafunction This
14 metafunction is concerned with how language expresses people's experiences of the outside world and their inner thoughts and consciousness about what is happening This metafunction consists of two main components: logical function and experiential function The logical function deals with the connections among ideas in a combination of clauses, helping to establish the logical flow of information in discourse The experiential function conveys the experiential aspects of events or actions The grammatical structure that represents the ideational metafunction is called ―transitivity,‖ and it explains experiences using different process types, such as material process, relational process, behavioral process, mental process, verbal process, and existential process The second metafunction is the interpersonal metafunction, which is concerned with the role of language in interpersonal communication and interaction between speakers or writers and their addresses It involves the expression of mood, which can be categorized as declarative, imperative, or interrogative It also involves modality, which is conveyed through modal verbs The third metafunction is the textual metafunction which relates to the creation of text and how logic is organized in a text Theme and rheme are the main grammatical systems of textual meaning
Van Dijk's (2015) CDA framework is a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach that delves into the complex relationship between discourse, power, domination, and dissent It views discourse as a dynamic social practice that creates and enables power relations and social realities Drawing on concepts and theories from sociology, political science, social psychology, and various other fields, the framework emphasizes key notions such as power, dominance, hegemony, ideology, class, gender, and race The framework seeks to explain discourse structures in terms of properties of social interaction and social structure, with the ultimate goal of exposing power abuse and challenging social inequality This analysis extends to how powerful groups control discourse, encompassing control over text, talk, communicative contexts, and individuals' cognitive processes, indirectly influencing their actions In terms of methodology, Van Dijk advocates a
15 diverse range of discourse analysis methods, such as discourse grammar, conversation analysis, discourse pragmatics, rhetorical analysis, narrative analysis, multimodal discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, arguments, implications, presuppositions, lexical choices, semantics, syntactic structures, language ideology, intertextual analysis, and historical analysis of texts
Fairclough (2013) perceived discourse as spoken or written language that functions as a form of social practice, meaning that it is shaped by and shapes social relations and processes He stated that discourse features can change over time in society and that it is important to consider the historical context when analyzing discourse In the context of CDA, Fairclough (2013) viewed discourse as consisting of three elements The first is text, which refers to the actual written or spoken language used in discourse The second is discourse practice, which refers to the production and consumption of texts The last is text, social practice, which refers to the broader social context in which discourse occurs
Ideology in Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is a central concept that refers to the ways in which discourse embodies and transmits beliefs, values, and social practices that sustain power relations in society Bloor and Bloor (2013, p 10) defined ideology as ―a set of beliefs or attitudes shared by members of a particular social group‖ Statham (2021) asserted that it represents a belief system held by social groups According to Susilowati and Ulkhasanah (2020), ideology refers to faith and beliefs of individuals or groups in a system of ideas that are based on judgements and attitudes Ostrowski (2022) defined ideology as a system of ideas and representations that serve to make sense of the overwhelming and incomprehensible aspects of reality Building on this definition, Ostrowski stated that ideology helps people to framework the complexities of reality, thereby making it more understandable This is performed in response to the chaotic nature of reality When labeling ideologies, people often use terms such as ―X ideology‖ or
―X-ism‖ which represents a specific combination of ideas In this study, ideology is
16 viewed as the beliefs, views, and ideas that individuals maintain regarding a particular subject or phenomenon
Ideology has the potential to determine social practice According to Bloor and Bloor (2013), people‘s ideologies are integrated into their thoughts and language Even from a young age, people absorb the established values of their social environment and follow socially-acceptable practices Moreover, people‘s discourse tends to be based on their ideologies However, such ideologies are not always consciously held as individuals might possess thought patterns that are deeply ingrained through their social environments Ultimately, ideologies play a fundamental role in shaping people‘s actions and behavior By influencing people‘s social practices, ideology manages to reproduce social order Some actions and behaviors that are conducive to the ideology are perceived as socially-accepted However, others that contradict the ideology are viewed as socially-unacceptable This distinction between acceptable and unacceptable actions in relation to the ideology comprises the social order Bloor and Bloor (2013) explained that these unconsciously-held beliefs are often difficult to challenge, both to oneself and to others
Concerning the promotion of ideologies, power relations often determine which ideological assumptions circulate the general population‘s discourse (Fairclough,
2013) These assumptions are generally aimed at legitimizing existing power relations and reflecting the interests of those in power Statham (2021) and Susilowati and Ulkhasanah (2020) also mentioned the role of ideology in maintaining and legitimizing power, especially through the use of language In this way, dominant institutions are able to flourish as their system of beliefs is perpetuated and supported
The process of naturalization is especially beneficial for those in power to spread desirable ideologies According to Yewah (1993, p 181), naturalization is ―the process of unconscious internalization and expression of beliefs, values, ideas, perceptions and modes of thinking of a given society and class at a given period‖
Fairclough (2013) stated that naturalization hides the power dynamics that make discourse surrounding a particular ideology appear neutral Through naturalization, ideologies can become integrated into society to the extent that they seem natural and practical, even though they are often synthetic In this way, naturalization further reinforces existing power relations by making them appear self-evident and unquestionable
When conducting CDA to identify ideologies, analysts must be aware that ideologies are not always explicitly stated due to the ways in which existing powers attempt to naturalize ideologies Ideological positions can be hidden through linguistic elements such as euphemisms and metaphors Bloor and Bloor (2013) recommended that analysts conducting CDA with the intention of uncovering ideologies should deconstruct the discourse by analyzing grammar and word choices to reveal associations and implications
Theoretical framework
Figure 1: Fairclough's three-dimensional model
Fairclough‘s Three-Dimensional Model is a widely recognized framework in Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) that provides a comprehensive approach to analyzing the complex relationships between language, discourse, and society The model, introduced by Norman Fairclough in the 1990s, has been influential in understanding how discourse reflects and reproduces power relations, ideologies, and social practices The model consists of three dimensions: text, discourse practice, and sociocultural practice The text dimension is concerned with how information is presented and the relation between different information An analysis of text typically involves the vocabulary, grammar, linguistic, and rhetorical devices Furthermore, the discourse practice dimension considers the production and consumption of text Its analysis looks at the production and consumption process of the text, such as the role of the media and the involvement of the audience Besides, the sociocultural practice dimension relates to the social and cultural context in which the text is produced Due to its comprehensive approach to understanding the complex relationships between language, discourse, and society, I decided to base my analysis of Joe Biden‘s speeches on this model
The studies reviewed in the previous section examined various political speeches using several analysis methods This led to conclusions that adequately answered the authors‘ research questions However, one feature that appears to be lacking is the analysis of speeches of political figures given during their political campaigns
A president‘s campaign is a crucial part of their political career During this phase, they must engage in numerous debates and be highly selective in their discourse so that they can obtain the favor of the audience They must also clarify their ideologies to effectively communicate their beliefs with the audience The current study will address this research gap by analyzing speeches conducted by the current president Joe Biden during his campaign before he became the president Joe Biden in particular is a valuable subject for research since is considered the highest level of authority in America and has the ability to implement decisions that could impact both American society and the world
METHODOLOGY
Research approach
There are various approaches to analyzing critical discourse based on researchers such as Halliday, Fairclough, and Van Dijk In this study, the researcher decided to conduct an analysis based on Fairclough‘s approach
Fairclough‘s Three-Dimensional Model is a framework for analyzing how language enables the creation and maintenance of power relations in society It consists of three dimensions, which are textual/descriptive, discourse practice/interpretation, and social practice/explanation The first dimension, textual/descriptive, focuses on the form and meaning of the content In Fairclough‘s 1989 work, Language and Power, he listed questions that researchers can reference when conducting textual analysis These questions relate to the analysis of vocabulary, grammar, and textual structures in the text
Table 3: Features of textual analysis
Focus of the analysis Specific features
Vocabulary • Experiential values of words
• Use of metaphors Grammar • Experiential values of grammatical features
• Relational values of grammatical features
• Expressive values of grammatical features
• Linking of sentences Textual structures • Use of interactional conventions
• Larger-scale structure of the text The second dimension, discourse practice, focuses on text production and interpretation Fairclough (1989,) described that the interpretation of texts involves
26 the analysis of the meanings of the utterances, the local coherence, and the text structure and ‗point‘ The third dimension, social practice, focuses on the levels of social organization This dimension involves the analysis of social determinants, ideologies, and effects (Fairclough, 2015)
I was motivated to apply Fairclough‘s three-dimensional framework as it encourages multidimensional analysis which enables me to fully explore various aspects of the discourse Additionally, context is analyzed in this framework Context is an extremely important part of a political speech because it can explain power dynamics and add more meaning to the content Finally, Fairclough‘s framework allows me to view the content from a critical perspective, which is essential to better understand the ideologies present in discourse.
Data
This study examined Joe Biden‘s speeches during his 2020 presidential campaign I chose the 2020 presidential cycle since it was the most recent Moreover, Joe Biden was chosen as the main subject of this study as he was the winner of the election, thereby making him a suitable example of the successful implementation of linguistic techniques to establish influence and power Regarding the choice of speeches, I determined that election speeches were suitable for this study for several reasons Firstly, election speeches are written and delivered to gain votes for the speaker This means that the speakers must be extremely careful about their choice of words and message as it could enable them to either win or lose the election Secondly, presidential candidates generally emphasize their support for policies to communicate their ideologies to the voters As such, speeches that demonstrate the speakers‘ ideologies are ideal for critical discourse analysis that focuses on ideology and power Lastly, presidential candidates are likely to try and establish power and authority over their opponents in order to create the impression that they are more suitable for the presidency This makes it more likely that the speakers would attempt to influence the audience and establish power, which is also appropriate for critical discourse analysis
Two specific speeches were chosen for this research One of these was Biden‘s Democratic National Convention address, which was delivered on August 20 and which consisted of 3,192 words (referred to as Biden 1 in the analysis) In this speech, Joe Biden accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, criticized Donald Trump for failing to address the COVID-19 pandemic, promised to attempt to unify America, and outlined his ideas for upcoming policies related to the pandemic, economy, climate change, medical care, and infrastructure The transcript of this speech was retrieved from CNN (2020) CNN is a reputable media company based in the United States It covers news from all over the world and extensively reports on the election process in America During this time, transcripts of different candidates‘ speeches are published for public reference The other speech was Biden‘s Gettysburg address, which was delivered on October 6 and consisted of 2,615 words (referred to as Biden 2 in the analysis) In this speech, he addressed the division within America, advocated for bipartisanship, discussed the pandemic, and addressed economic and racial divisions The transcript of this speech was retrieved from Biden‘s (2020) website This website (joebiden.com) is the official website of Joe Biden which provides information about Biden‘s campaign and official transcripts of various speeches that he has given
The first step in the data collection process was to extract the speeches To achieve this, I accessed the speech transcripts from CNN and the Biden website and saved the contents in two text files After the transcripts of the speeches were retrieved, I prepared the files for analysis This included removing content unrelated to the speeches, placing each sentence on a separate line, and checking the readability of the content Once the text files were prepared, I uploaded them to WordSmith and Taguette WordSmith Tools is a lexical analysis program that was developed by Mike Scott and released in 1996 (Scott, 2008) It consists of various tools that allow users to analyze lexical data Among these tools is Concord, which generates concordances and helps users to find out where words appear in a text and what content appears alongside those words Another tool is WordList, which provides
28 both qualitative and quantitative exploration of texts This tool can calculate the frequencies of specific words, compare the frequencies across various texts, and visualize representations Keywords is another useful tool which lets users compare significant words that were analyzed with the WordList tool On the other hand,
Taguette is a program which lets users conduct qualitative analysis on texts Users can upload multiple documents to the program and then highlight specific content in the documents (Rampin & Steeves, 2021) Highlighted content can be tagged under specific categories and the frequencies of each tag can be calculated.
Data analysis
In my analysis, I adapted Fairclough‘s three-dimensional CDA approach to uncover power relations, ideologies, and social practices embedded in Biden‘s discourse Qualitative analysis was used to examine the texts based textually, discursively, and based on social practices The findings from these dimensions were then triangulated to provide a comprehensive understanding of Joe Biden‘s beliefs, linguistic construction in his speeches, and reasons for expressing his beliefs The overall analysis was conducted across three stages
Stage 1: Identify beliefs This stage was aimed at answering the first research question ―What are the beliefs of Joe Biden?‖ It involved thematic analysis of each of the speeches The contents of the speeches were uploaded to Taguette I analyzed each sentence and tagged sentences where a belief was expressed I also grouped the sentences based on common themes and presented the overall structure with
RQ3: Identify reasons for expressing beliefs
29 those themes In addition, I examined word and collocation frequencies to identify recurring ideas or themes Furthermore, I examined collocations with personal pronouns, focusing on collocations with first-person pronouns to identify explicit statements of beliefs
Stage 2: Identify linguistic construction This stage was aimed at answering the second research question ―How are they (Biden‘s beliefs) linguistically constructed?‖ I analyzed modality in the speeches by examining the occurrences of modal verbs I focused on modal verb strength ranging from low to high Modality refers to the speaker's attitude towards the truth or likelihood of a proposition Analyzing modality allowed me to assess the certainty or uncertainty conveyed in the text I also analyzed the voice used in the speech by classifying sentences as using either active or passive voice Voice affects how the audience perceives the speaker‘s authority and expertise on the subject matter It can also reveal whether the speaker emphasizes an action or downplays it, ultimately revealing how the speaker positions themselves in relation to the statement Lastly, I identified the speech acts in the speeches and labeled them as being assertive, commissive, directive, expressive, or declarative Analyzing speech acts helped me to understand Biden‘s communicative intentions
Stage 3: Identify reasons for expressing beliefs This stage was aimed at answering the third research question ―Why did Joe Biden express such beliefs in the speeches?‖ For this stage, I based my analysis on the political and social contexts of the US at the time so that I could infer Biden‘s motivations for expressing certain beliefs
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Findings
4.1.1 Research question 1: What are the beliefs of Joe Biden?
This analysis presents the structure of the speeches, as well as the ideologies that were communicated within each section
Biden 1: Democratic National Convention address
1 Introduction Biden greets the audience, quotes Ella Baker, and criticizes Trump for spreading anger, fear, and division
―The current president has cloaked America in darkness for much too long Too much anger Too much fear Too much division.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Unity)
2 Promoting self Biden promises that he will choose hope, facts, and fairness He accepts the nomination for the presidency for the Democratic party, but states he will work for both democrats and non-democrats, which emphasizes unity
―It’s time for us, for We the People, to come together.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Unity)
―This is not a partisan moment This must be an American moment.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Unity)
―America isn’t just a collection of clashing interests of Red States or Blue States We’re so much bigger than that.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Unity)
3 Significance of the campaign Biden states that the campaign is for ―the heart of America‖ and for those who are oppressed, generous, and hard-working
―Winning it for the workers who keep this country going, not just the privileged few at the top.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Economic equality)
―Winning it for those communities who have known the injustice of the 'knee on the neck'.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Racial equality)
―For all the young people who have known only an America of rising inequity and shrinking opportunity.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Economic equality)
4 Current crises Biden outlines the challenges of COVID-19, a declining economy, racial injustice, and climate change
―And the undeniable realities and accelerating threats of climate change.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Climate change action)
―Or we can choose a different path, and together, take this chance to heal, to be reborn, to unite.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Unity)
―5 million Americans infected with COVID-19 More than 170,000 Americans have died By far the worst performance of any nation on Earth.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: COVID-19 prevention)
5 Honoring Obama Biden thanks Obama for being a great president and contrasts Obama‘s greatness with Trump‘s selfishness
―A president who takes no responsibility, refuses to lead, blames others, cozies up to dictators, and fans the flames of hate and division.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Unity)
6 Criticizing Trump Biden criticizes Trump‘s lack of planning in dealing with the virus
―As president, the first step I will take will be to get control of the virus that’s ruined so many lives.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: COVID-19 prevention) Our economy is in tatters, with Black, Latino, Asian American, and Native American communities bearing the brunt of it.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Racial equality)
7 Policy plans Biden outlines his plan for dealing with the pandemic
―We’ll have a national mandate to wear a mask-not as a burden, but to protect each other It’s a patriotic duty.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: COVID-19 prevention)
8 Empathizing with audience Biden relates to the people who have lost loved ones with his personal experiences
―To finally live up to and make real the words written in the sacred documents that founded this nation that all men and women are created equal.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Equality)
9 Policy plans Biden outlines his plan for dealing with the declining economy, climate change, and racial injustice
―That’s why my economic plan is all about jobs, dignity, respect, and community Together, we can, and we will, rebuild our economy.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Economic equality and Unity)
―We can, and we will, deal with climate change (Biden 1; Ideology: Climate change action)
―Because we don’t need a tax code that rewards wealth more than it rewards work.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Economic equality)
―They’re speaking to the inequity and injustice that has grown up in America Economic injustice Racial injustice Environmental injustice.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Racial equality, Economic equality, Climate change action)
10 Praising vice president and his family Biden praises Kamala Harris, his vice president for being strong and fighting for the truth Also states that his family supports him
―No one’s been tougher on the big banks or the gun lobby.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Gun reform)
11 Promoting self Biden expresses his intentions – supporting his allies, opposing dictators, and fighting for human rights
―Will we be the generation that finally wipes the stain of racism from our national character?‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Racial equality)
―I will stand always for our values of human rights and dignity.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Equality)
12 Adress racism and emphasize unity Biden refers to the George Floyd incident and emphasizes the need for America to unite
―However it has come to be, America is ready to in John’s words, to lay down 'the heavy burdens of hate at last' and to do the hard work of rooting out our systemic racism.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Racial equality)
―That in America, everyone, and I mean everyone, should be given the opportunity to go as far as their dreams and God-given ability will take them.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Equality)
13 Closing Biden thanks the audience and concludes his speech
―And there has never been anything we’ve been unable to accomplish when we’ve done it together.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Unity)
―With passion and purpose, let us begin – you and I together, one nation, under God – united in our love for America and united in our love for each other.‖ (Biden 1; Ideology: Unity)
1 Introduction Biden starts the speech by providing the historical background of the location of the speech, Gettysburg
2 Discussing division Biden discusses the division caused by the civil war in the past and states that division still exists
―There is no more fitting place than here today in Gettysburg to talk about the cost of division — about how much it has cost America in the past, about how much it is costing us now, and about why I believe in this moment we must come together as a nation.‖ (Biden 2; Ideology: Unity)
―Today, once again, we are a house divided But that, my friends, can no longer be.‖ (Biden 2; Ideology: Unity)
―As we stand here today, a century and a half after Gettysburg, we should consider again what can happen when equal justice is denied.‖ (Biden 2; Ideology: Equality)
3 Discussing bipartisanship Biden emphasizes the need for bipartisanship and
―I’m running as a proud Democrat, but I will govern as an American president I will work with Democrats and Republicans and I will work as hard for those who don’t support me as for those who do.‖ (Biden 2; Ideology: Unity)
―We must seek not to build walls, but bridges.‖ (Biden 2; Ideology: Unity)
4 Addressing hate Biden refers to the Charlottesville and George Floyd incidents
He discusses racial injustice and promises to fight for justice
―As President, I will do that I will send a clear, unequivocal message to the nation There is no place for hate in America.‖ (Biden 2; Ideology: Equality)
―In recent weeks and months, the country has been roiled by instances of excessive police force, by heart wrenching cases of racial injustice‖ (Biden 2; Ideology: Racial equality)
―But I also believe injustice is real It’s the product of a history that goes back 400 years, to the moment when black men, women, and children were first brought here in chains I do not believe we have to choose between law and order and racial justice in America We can have both.‖ (Biden 2; Ideology: Racial equality)
5 Addressing the pandemic Biden criticizing the current administration‘s way of handling the pandemic and outlines the consequences He encourages people to wear masks and promotes his national strategy to deal with the virus
―We have paid a high price for allowing the deep divisions in this country to impact how we have dealt with the coronavirus.‖ (Biden 2; Ideology: COVID-19 prevention)
―Let’s set the partisanship aside Let’s end the politics Let’s follow the science Wearing a mask isn’t a political statement It’s a scientific recommendation Social distancing isn’t a political statement It’s a scientific recommendation.‖ (Biden 2; Ideology: COVID-19 prevention)
―The virus doesn’t care where you live or what political party you belong to It infects us all It will take anyone’s life It is a virus — not a political weapon.‖ (Biden 2; Ideology: COVID-19 prevention)
6 Addressing economic inequality Biden states that the American economy favors the rich and that everyone should have equal opportunities
―There’s another enduring division in America that we must end: The divisions in our economic life that give opportunity only to the privileged few.‖ (Biden 2; Ideology: Economic equality)
7 Promoting self Biden expresses his intentions to spread hope, peace, generosity, and light He indicates that he opposes racism, welcomes immigrants, and believes in economic equality
―We cannot — and will not — allow extremists and white supremacists to overturn the America of Lincoln and Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass.‖ (Biden 2; Ideology: Equality)
―From Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall, we’re at our best when the promise of America is available to all.‖ (Biden 2; Ideology: Equality)
8 Call to action Biden encourages the audience to vote and asks them to join him in fighting injustice, inequality, fear, and hate
―Together, as one nation, under God, indivisible, let us join forces to fight the common foes of injustice and inequality, of hate and fear.‖ (Biden 2; Ideology: Unity)
―We can end this era of division We can end the hate and the fear We can be what we are at our best: The United States of America.‖ (Biden 2; Ideology: Unity)
The following table shows the most frequently occurring words (apart from modal verbs, pronouns, and linking words) in the speeches
America 54 ―America is at an inflection point‖ (Biden 1) president 43 ―as president, I will embrace hope, not fear‖
(Biden 2) nation 30 ―This nation is strong enough to both honestly face systemic racism‖ (Biden 2) people 23 ―Working people and their kids deserve an opportunity‖ (Biden 2) country 21 ―It was a wake-up call for us as a country‖
(Biden 1) together 16 ―Together, we can, and we will, rebuild our economy‖ (Biden 1) hope 15 ―It‘s a moment that calls for hope and light and love‖ (Biden 1) work 14 ―I will work as hard for those who didn‘t support me‖ (Biden 1) division / divided
14 ―Too much division‖ (Biden 1) love 13 ―united in our love for America‖ (Biden 1) Americans 11 ―5 million Americans infected with COVID-19‖
(Biden 1) hate 11 ―We can end the hate and the fear‖ (Biden 2) united / unity 11 ―United we can, and will, overcome this season of darkness‖ (Biden 1) believe 10 ―I also believe injustice is real‖ (Biden 2) history 10 ―History has thrust one more urgent task on us‖
(Biden 1) thank 2 ―Thank you, Mr President‖ (Biden 1)
The most frequently used word was ―America‖ which was used 54 times The word
―president‖ ranked second with 43 occurrences The third-most used word was
The extracts below show how words like ―together‖, ―united‖, and ―division‖ reveal the theme of unity in Biden‘s speeches
―we must come together as a nation‖ (Biden 2) // United we can, and will, overcome this season of darkness in America.‖ (Biden 1) // ―end this era of division‖ (Biden 2)
The following quotes from the speeches reveal Biden‘s focus on equality based on words such as ―equal‖ and ―racism‖
―with equal pay for women‖ (Biden 1) // ―do the hard work of rooting out our systemic racism‖ (Biden 1) // ―fulfill the promise of equality for all‖ (Biden 2)
The following table shows the frequencies of personal pronouns in the speeches The pronouns are divided based on their types, specifically first-person, second- person, and third-person
Table 5: Frequencies of personal pronouns
Type Subtype Pronoun Biden 1 Biden 2 Total
Discussion
4.2.1 Existence and linguistic construction of beliefs of Joe Biden revealed in the discourse
Through the analysis, I was able to determine the main beliefs of Joe Biden based on his discourse Through analyzing the speech content, frequencies of personal pronouns and specific political keywords, such as ―vaccine‖, ―inequality‖, ―united‖,
―climate change‖, etc., as well as considering the structure of the discourse, I identified the following ideologies
First and foremost, the concept of unity is central to Joe Biden‘s ideology In both speeches, Biden mentioned that he will work for the sake of both democrats and non-democrats, indicating a favorable position towards bipartisanship In fact, Biden directly addressed bipartisanship in his Gettysburg address by stating that people should forget about their political divisions and focus on understanding one another In this particular speech, Biden referenced the civil war ago that occurred over a century ago and compared that period of division in America to the current state of division The frequency analysis showed that Biden often used terms, such as ―united‖ and ―together‖ to talk about the potential future of America In contrast, he used terms such as ―division‖ and ―hate‖ to describe current conditions Another way that unity was reflected in his speeches was through his use of personal pronouns In both speeches, the first-person plural personal pronoun ―we‖ was the commonly used pronoun In addition, the personal pronoun ―us‖ ranked third In contrast, the third-person plural pronoun ―they‖ was used rarely This indicates that Biden considered himself, his administration, and the audience as one entity He rarely addressed the audience as ―you‖, which creates the feeling that the Biden and the audience are connected and must act as one Also, by rarely using third-person plural pronouns, Biden avoided creating contrasts between ‗his‘ and ‗another‘ group, which strengthened the sense of unity
The analysis also showed that Biden believes in racial equality In both speeches, Biden discussed the George Floyd incident and sympathized with Floyd‘s family
He also remarked that the Charlottesville KKK parade indirectly encouraged him to
46 run for the presidency to oppose racism The frequency analysis also indicated Frequency analysis indicated multiple instances of words like ―hate‖ and ―equality‖ With instances of ―hate‖, Biden stated that people must get rid of it, while with instances of ―equality‖, Biden encouraged it In addition, Biden supports economic equality In the Gettysburg address, he acknowledged current economic inequalities, specifically how wealthy people are in an unfair position in terms of opportunity
He stated that the audience and his administration should not accept an economy where the rich are favored He often used the word ―opportunity‖ to describe the creation of an economy that is equal and enables working people to achieve success Apart from unity, racial equality, and economic equality, Biden supports actions to reduce the impacts of climate change The frequency analysis showed that when he spoke of climate change, he mentioned that America ―can and will‖ deal with it and that the realities and threats of climate change are ―undeniable‖ He also expressed his support of COVID-19 prevention measures when he stated in his Gettysburg address that the vaccine is not a political weapon, that social distancing is a scientific recommendations, and that people should follow the science and wear masks Lastly, Biden indirectly indicated that he supports gun reform when he praised his vice president Kamala Harris on being strict on the gun industry
Joe Biden‘s ideologies align with those identified in some previous studies For instance, in Sipra and Rashi‘s (2013) study, it was also found that Martin Luther King Jr emphasized equality and unity Furthermore, political speakers in previous studies (Nga, 2019; Tran and Pham, 2023) used a variety of linguistic devices, such as pronouns, modality, and voice to communicate certain ideas, which was also found in this study
Overall, Biden possesses an ideology that is expected of a Democrat candidate He believes in equality on all levels, including race and economic status; wants to combat climate change; supports government efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19; and supports gun reform The concept of unity is at the forefront of his ideology as he frequently calls the audience to action in unifying and working together to forge a better America
4.2.2 Reasons for Joe Biden expressing his beliefs in the discourse
The expression of Biden‘s beliefs, notably his call for unity, opposition towards racial inequality, and encouragement of COVID-19 prevention measures, were likely influenced by the political context at the time
In terms of his call for unity, Biden recognized the political fissures that existed during the election He understood that there were major issues and that people had contrasting opinions of these issues In his Gettysburg address in particular, the historical context of division (i.e the civil war) was extremely prevalent In a time of political divide, Biden decided to encourage bipartisanship instead of positioning himself and his party against those who disagreed with them Instead of worsening the division, he wanted to reconcile the American people In my opinion, this was an intelligent strategy that possibly contributed to him securing the majority vote at the end of the election
Biden also supported racial equality The George Floyd incident that occurred in May was a significant event that sparked an outcry against racial violence At this time, the general public appeared to be in favor of the Black Lives Matter movement and individuals were likely more critical of those in power based on their stances towards the issue As a true Democrat, Biden expressed his support for racial equality and aligned himself with the overall sentiment of the American public
Biden‘s belief about dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic was undoubtedly a deciding factor in the election After witnessing the Trump administration‘s failure to contain the pandemic, people were hoping that political figures such as Biden would be able to address the issue more effectively Biden mentioned that the virus is not a political weapon as conspiracy theories were circulating that governments were using the virus to suppress the public Biden emphasized that, in order to prevent further spread of the virus, people needed to follow scientific recommendations This demonstrates Biden‘s attempt to manage the situation better than the previous administration
Contributions of this study
This study provides insights into how Joe Biden used language strategically during his political campaign to empower himself and promote his ideology It contributes to existing literature by identifying the specific ideologies expressed by Joe Biden during this point in his political career These were equality, climate change action, COVID-19 prevention, gun reform, and unity Moreover, this study demonstrates how the analysis of certain linguistic features, such as modality, personal pronouns, voice, and speech acts, can lead to information about political figures‘ ideologies Lastly, it provides an interpretation of the sociocultural circumstance surrounding Joe Biden‘s speeches that seeks to explain why he decided to communicate specific ideologies Overall, this study offers a snapshot of Joe Biden‘s political identity during the 2020 election cycle and demonstrates the application of CDA for discovering ideologies communicated in political discourse
CONCLUSION
Summary
The findings of this study led to conclusions about the beliefs of Joe Biden, as expressed in his Democratic National Convention address and Gettysburg address
It was found that several key beliefs shaped his political stance Central to his beliefs is the concept of unity as he positions himself as working for both Democrats and non-Democrats, urging people to overcome political divisions Additionally, Biden strongly advocates for racial and economic equality, and supports climate change action Furthermore, Biden endorses COVID-19 prevention efforts and signals support for gun reform
Biden employed various means to communicate his ideologies His belief in unity was shown in the recurring use of terms like ―united‖ and ―together‖, as well as his various statements related to the theme of unity throughout the speech (as seen in the text structure and content analysis) In addition, his frequent use of first-person plural pronouns emphasizes a collective identity, fostering a sense of unity In addition, Biden expressed his concerns about advancing equality by referring to the George Floyd incident, acknowledging economic disparities, and overtly opposing racism His belief in supporting climate change action was communicated through his commitment to address the undeniable realities of climate change Furthermore, he expressed his support for COVID-19 prevention measures by emphasizing the vaccine‘s non-political nature and advocating for the public to follow scientific recommendations Lastly, he voiced support for gun reform by praising Vice President Kamala Harris‘s strict stance on the gun industry Overall, Biden‘s beliefs were communicated through assertive and commissive statements and were also evident in his frequency of using certain words and his use of personal pronouns Biden‘s motivations for expressing his beliefs were likely motivated by the social
50 situation Throughout his speech, he focused on the concept of unity and bipartisanship This was in response to the state of division that America was experiencing, especially between the two main political groups In addition, his support for racial equality was likely fueled by the outcry against racial violence in light of the George Floyd incident Also, Biden‘s encouragement of COVID-19 prevention measures was influenced by both the Trump administration‘s failure to address the pandemic effectively and the worsening conditions of the virus in America His beliefs about unity, equality, and COVID-19 prevention can be considered antidotes to the various distresses in American society
Overall, Biden‘s ideological stance aligns with Democratic values, emphasizing equality, climate action, pandemic prevention, and gun reform, with unity as a cornerstone of his vision for a better America.
Implications
The findings of this study have implications for both language educators and researchers pursuing a similar research interest
In terms of the implications for language educators, this study serves as an authentic CDA case study, which revealed that analyzing Joe Biden's discourse, including modal verbs, pronouns, and speech acts, provides valuable insights into how a political leader strategically uses language to convey power and connection Educators can make use of these findings to design discourse analysis activities that help students apply theoretical concepts to real-world examples, enhancing their analytical skills In addition, this study can inform educators about the role of plural nouns in political discourse The findings highlighted Biden's consistent use of inclusive pronouns like ―we‖ and ―our‖ as a means of fostering unity in his discourse Educators can directly connect these findings to the importance of inclusive language in creating a shared identity and promoting unity
In terms of the implications for researchers, this study this study demonstrates how CDA (in the context of Fairclough‘s approach) can be applied to determine beliefs of key political figures Future research can apply this framework to further analyze
51 the discourse of political figures Additionally, the findings of this study can be used as a reference Future researchers investigating beliefs in Joe Biden‘s speeches can refer to this study to compare their findings and identify any consistencies or deviations.
Recommendations
I recommend the following actions for further acquisition of information related to key political figures‘ ideologies Firstly, future researchers could conduct a longitudinal study of Joe Biden‘s speeches to determine any changes in his beliefs This would reveal whether his beliefs are fixed or based on external factors Secondly, future researchers could use the framework applied in this study to analyze and compare the beliefs of current and past presidents Such findings could facilitate a discussion about the differences of specific American presidents and their beliefs Lastly, future researchers could apply different frameworks to examine the beliefs of Joe Biden to determine consistencies and deviations among the applied frameworks
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APPENDICES APPENDIX 1 TEXT OF BIDEN’S SPEECH AT DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL
Ella Baker, a giant of the civil rights movement, left us with this wisdom: Give people light and they will find a way
Those are words for our time
The current president has cloaked America in darkness for much too long Too much anger Too much fear Too much division
Here and now, I give you my word: If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us not the worst I will be an ally of the light not of the darkness
It‘s time for us, for We the People, to come together
For make no mistake United we can, and will, overcome this season of darkness in America We will choose hope over fear, facts over fiction, fairness over privilege
I am a proud Democrat and I will be proud to carry the banner of our party into the general election So, it is with great honor and humility that I accept this nomination for President of the United States of America
But while I will be a Democratic candidate, I will be an American president I will work as hard for those who didn‘t support me as I will for those who did
That‘s the job of a president To represent all of us, not just our base or our party This is not a partisan moment This must be an American moment
It‘s a moment that calls for hope and light and love Hope for our futures, light to see our way forward, and love for one another
America isn‘t just a collection of clashing interests of Red States or Blue States We‘re so much bigger than that
We‘re so much better than that
Nearly a century ago, Franklin Roosevelt pledged a New Deal in a time of massive
II unemployment, uncertainty, and fear
Stricken by disease, stricken by a virus, FDR insisted that he would recover and prevail and he believed America could as well
This campaign isn‘t just about winning votes
It‘s about winning the heart, and yes, the soul of America
Winning it for the generous among us, not the selfish Winning it for the workers who keep this country going, not just the privileged few at the top Winning it for those communities who have known the injustice of the ―knee on the neck‖ For all the young people who have known only an America of rising inequity and shrinking opportunity
They deserve to experience America‘s promise in full
No generation ever knows what history will ask of it All we can ever know is whether we‘ll be ready when that moment arrives
And now history has delivered us to one of the most difficult moments America has ever faced
Four historic crises All at the same time A perfect storm
The worst pandemic in over 100 years The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression
The most compelling call for racial justice since the 60‘s And the undeniable realities and accelerating threats of climate change
So, the question for us is simple: Are we ready?
All elections are important But we know in our bones this one is more consequential
America is at an inflection point A time of real peril, but of extraordinary possibilities
We can choose the path of becoming angrier, less hopeful, and more divided
A path of shadow and suspicion
Or we can choose a different path, and together, take this chance to heal, to be reborn, to unite A path of hope and light
This is a life-changing election that will determine America‘s future for a very long time
Character is on the ballot Compassion is on the ballot Decency, science, democracy
They are all on the ballot
Who we are as a nation What we stand for And, most importantly, who we want to be
That‘s all on the ballot
And the choice could not be clearer
Just judge this president on the facts
5 million Americans infected with COVID-19
More than 170,000 Americans have died
By far the worst performance of any nation on Earth
More than 50 million people have filed for unemployment this year
More than 10 million people are going to lose their health insurance this year
Nearly one in 6 small businesses have closed this year
If this president is re-elected we know what will happen
Cases and deaths will remain far too high
More mom and pop businesses will close their doors for good
Working families will struggle to get by, and yet, the wealthiest one percent will get tens of billions of dollars in new tax breaks
And the assault on the Affordable Care Act will continue until its destroyed, taking insurance away from more than 20 million people – including more than 15 million people on Medicaid – and getting rid of the protections that President Obama and I
IV passed for people who suffer from a pre-existing condition
And speaking of President Obama, a man I was honored to serve alongside for 8 years as Vice President Let me take this moment to say something we don‘t say nearly enough
Thank you, Mr President You were a great president A president our children could – and did – look up to
No one will say that about the current occupant of the office
What we know about this president is if he‘s given four more years he will be what he‘s been the last four years
A president who takes no responsibility, refuses to lead, blames others, cozies up to dictators, and fans the flames of hate and division
He will wake up every day believing the job is all about him Never about you
Is that the America you want for you, your family, your children?
One that is generous and strong
It‘s an America we can rebuild together
As president, the first step I will take will be to get control of the virus that‘s ruined so many lives
Because I understand something this president doesn‘t
We will never get our economy back on track, we will never get our kids safely back to school, we will never have our lives back, until we deal with this virus The tragedy of where we are today is it didn‘t have to be this bad
It‘s not this bad in Canada Or Europe Or Japan Or almost anywhere else in the world
The President keeps telling us the virus is going to disappear He keeps waiting for a miracle Well, I have news for him, no miracle is coming
We lead the world in confirmed cases We lead the world in deaths
Our economy is in tatters, with Black, Latino, Asian American, and Native American communities bearing the brunt of it
And after all this time, the president still does not have a plan
If I‘m president on day one we‘ll implement the national strategy I‘ve been laying out since March
We‘ll develop and deploy rapid tests with results available immediately
We‘ll make the medical supplies and protective equipment our country needs And we‘ll make them here in America So we will never again be at the mercy of China and other foreign countries in order to protect our own people
We‘ll make sure our schools have the resources they need to be open, safe, and effective
We‘ll put the politics aside and take the muzzle off our experts so the public gets the information they need and deserve The honest, unvarnished truth They can deal with that
We‘ll have a national mandate to wear a mask-not as a burden, but to protect each other
In short, I will do what we should have done from the very beginning
Our current president has failed in his most basic duty to this nation
He failed to protect us
He failed to protect America
And, my fellow Americans, that is unforgivable
As president, I will make you this promise: I will protect America I will defend us from every attack Seen And unseen Always Without exception Every time Look, I understand it‘s hard to have hope right now
On this summer night, let me take a moment to speak to those of you who have lost the most
I know how it feels to lose someone you love I know that deep black hole that opens up in your chest That you feel your whole being is sucked into it I know
VI how mean and cruel and unfair life can be sometimes
But I‘ve learned two things
First, your loved ones may have left this Earth but they never leave your heart They will always be with you
And second, I found the best way through pain and loss and grief is to find purpose
As God‘s children each of us have a purpose in our lives
And we have a great purpose as a nation: To open the doors of opportunity to all Americans To save our democracy To be a light to the world once again
To finally live up to and make real the words written in the sacred documents that founded this nation that all men and women are created equal Endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights Among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
You know, my Dad was an honorable, decent man
He got knocked down a few times pretty hard, but always got up
He worked hard and built a great middle-class life for our family
He used to say, ―Joey, I don‘t expect the government to solve my problems, but I expect it to understand them.‖
And then he would say: ―Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck It‘s about your dignity It‘s about respect It‘s about your place in your community It‘s about looking your kids in the eye and say, honey, it‘s going to be okay.‖
I‘ve never forgotten those lessons