Ebook: Exceptional Me: How Donald Trump Exploited the Discourse of American Exceptionalism

Donald Trump has forged a unique relationship with American exceptionalism, parting ways with how presidents and presidential candidates have long communicated this idea to the American public. Jason Gilmore and Charles Rowling call this Trump's 'Exceptional Me Strategy' which began with his 2016 election campaign. In the rhetoric he deployed during this period he actively portrayed the United States as un-exceptional, placing blame at the feet of both Democrats and Republicans to set himself up as the one, exceptionally qualified, candidate who could “Make America Great Again.”
Through systematic comparative analysis, Rowling and Gilmore examine the departure Trump's exceptionalist rhetoric signals from previous presidents use of exceptionalism as a tool of political communication - rather than America (its institutions, ideals and people) being exceptional, it is Donald Trump himself who holds the key to American exceptionalism.