"Emotion has traditionally been seen as a weakness," said Karin Wahl-Jorgenson, Director of Research Development at Cardiff University, referring in history to Elizabeth I as a leader who displayed very little emotion. For a more recent example, she spoke of Howard Dean, a democratic candidate who ruined his campaign by emitting a high-pitched scream at the end of his speech; this was not received well by the media or the electorate.
Donald Trump, however, has used a particular emotion to his advantage, she said.
During Obama’s campaign for the presidency, the word 'anger' was associated with him in the media 1,500 times (and in many of these cases referring to someone else) but the figure for Trump stands at 4,000. Trump’s 'appeal', she said was “distinctively angry”.
Wahl-Jorgenson made the case that Trump’s anger won over those left behind by globalisation, who felt they had a reason to be angry and could relate to a red-faced leader. The narrative of anger became an inseparable part of the campaign, she suggested, and helped him to get elected.
The academic pointed to the rise in hate crime after Trump's election and the EU Referendum, and suggested that both were rooted in public anger and disenchantment.
If you missed this you might enjoy event 370, Behold America, which takes place on Saturday 2 June at 2:30pm. Please visit Hay Player for the world's great writers on audio and film: https://www.hayfestival.com/hayplayer/default.aspx?