No sympathy for the bully

Abstract

Abstract This paper is part of a project begun at Portland State University that examines political polarization through metaphor analysis (Ritchie, Feliciano, & Sparks, 2018). The current study looks at two sources of discourse on immigration in the United States, each exemplifying opposing sides of the larger immigration debate. The first source is a speech by then presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally, and the second is Senator Kamala Harris’s maiden speech delivered on the Senate floor. The goal of this analysis is to investigate the way metaphors may be used in political discourse to demonstrate or create polarization between opposing sides of the debate.