The United States Securitization Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic: A study of Post-truth governmentality from January - May 2020

Abstract

This academic study uses the method of multimodal critical discourse analysis and semi- structured interviews to examine the power dynamics, through linguistic practice, of the Trump Administration concerning their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using governmentality, securitization theory, and post-truth politics, I investigate seven actors’ COVID-19 discourse from January to May 2020. I implement a comprehensive multi-step analytical approach that comprises four phases while researching sixty-one instances. This analytical approach introduces a new theoretical framework encompassing Post-truth governmentality. The analysis is further supplemented by five interviews with American citizens who have experienced the pandemic in the United States from the beginning. The findings present three thematic narratives: 1) a clear and evident difference in discourse between the medical experts and the Trump Administration 2) Donald Trump, as an individual, radically stands out from all other researched actors, even those in his own administration 3) A shift in securitized rhetoric from January and February to March through May 2020.