Grice's Cooperative Principle in political communication: an analysis of interviews with Donald Trump

This research investigates the applicability of Grice's Cooperative Principle (CP) to political communication through the analysis of selected interviews with Donald Trump. It is structured into four chapters. Chapter I provides a theoretical framework of the Cooperative Principle and Gricean pragmatics, including critiques and developments in the field. Chapter II explores the linguistic features of political discourse, with particular attention to the setting of interviews. Chapter III examines Donald Trump’s communicative style, highlighting the linguistic strategies he frequently employs in public communication. Chapter IV presents a practical analysis of selected interview excerpts, identifying recurring communicative patterns and occurrences of adherence or failure to comply with the Cooperative Principle and its maxims. To conclude, this study demonstrates how Trump’s rhetoric can vary according to his communicative intent. By exploring the relationship between cooperation and political discourse, it has been shown that political figures often manipulate pragmatic norms for covert and frequently manipulative purposes.