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  DOI Prefix   10.20431


 

International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature
Volume 6, Issue 10, 2018, Page No: 32-40

Trump Tweets

Cynthia Whissell

Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, Canada.

Citation : Cynthia Whissell, Trump Tweets International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature 2018, 6(10) : 32-40.

Abstract

President Trump's 2017 tweets (N = 2,602) were studied in terms of their pleasantness (asmeasured by the Dictionary of Affect; Whissell, 2009), their popularity (defined in terms of retweets and likes), message characteristics (e.g., message length), and message content (e.g., whether the message included mentions of Melania, CNN, Hillary Clinton, or Democrats). Pleasantness and popularity were significantly predicted (p < 0.001) on the basis of message characteristics and content variables. Table 3 highlights the presence of two types of message: pleasant/unpopular tweets and unpleasant/popular ones. On the basis of their characteristics and contents, the first type of tweet was labeled as celebratory/ congratulatory and the second as antagonistic/accusatory. Antagonistic/accusatory tweets tended to mention Trump's political opponents (e.g., Clinton, Democrats, CNN) and to be posted between 7:00 pm and midnight. Trump's tweets were mildly pleasant in tone, but not as pleasant as tweets posted by President Obama in 2015-2016.


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