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Presidential words can turn the unthinkable into the thinkable − for better or for worse
The International Committee of the Red Cross said words and action must respect the rules of war as Trump’s posts escalated threats against Iran.
- On Tuesday, April 7, 2026, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social threatening Iran, demanding they "Open the Fuckin' Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell."
- Trump has escalated his warnings to bomb Iran's infrastructure as the conflict entered its second month, with observers treating the posts as a significant escalation beyond familiar rhetoric.
- For years, his rhetoric has relied on insult and threat to coarsen public discourse, according to critics tracking his social media usage as an ongoing pattern of inflammatory language.
- Such rhetoric primes the public to imagine large-scale violence, creating concern among observers that extreme threats could become accepted as legitimate military policy rather than dangerous escalation.
- Presidential rhetoric acts as an essential tool for framing reality, teaching citizens what to fear and which actions society should consider acceptable, experts say.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Nevada Current
Cobb County CourierPresidential words can turn the unthinkable into the thinkable − for better or for worse
Political hyperbole lowers the threshold of what the public can imagine as legitimate, as allowable. (wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus)Among the most disorienting things about President Donald Trump’s public language is how easily it can feel numbing and shocking in the same moment. He says something outrageous, the country recoils, and then the recoil itself begins to feel familiar. As a scholar who studies presidential rhetoric, I know t…
The Conversation
Presidential words can turn the unthinkable into the thinkable − for better or for worse
President Donald Trump's rhetoric has grown increasingly violent. wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images PlusAmong the most disorienting things about President Donald Trump’s public language is how easily it can feel numbing and shocking in the same moment. He says something outrageous, the country recoils, and then the recoil itself begins to feel familiar. As a scholar who studies presidential rhetoric, I know that over time that rhythm does its ow…
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