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Did you ever think about how important grammar is as a tool for politicians to influence voters’ choices? Their words are the reflection of their identity and ideas. This has been perfectly illustrated in the debates on the 10 of September 2024 between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

Tenses 

During the presidential debate, Kamala Harris focused her arguments on current challenges and her ideas for the future of the United States, while Donald Trump chose to develop a persuasion technique that focused on the past and what he had achieved as a former president. Trump frequently referred to his prior accomplishments as president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 rather than delving into the answers to current national issues. In this debate, past, present, and future reveal how each contender feels about the presidency. 

Toward the end of the debate, Harris expressed this thought: “You’ve heard tonight two very different visions for our country. One that is focused on the future and the other that is focused on the past. And an attempt to take us backwards. But we’re not going back.”

Words 

When it comes to language and specific words, I noticed that Trump used the word “I” a lot. Harris mostly used “we” to refer to the voters and her as one unique group that could fight together. The “I” from Trump draws the president as a charismatic leader, taking advantage of his personality and fame to convince voters. Harris emphasised the value of community and proximity: “I have spoken to women….”.

Length 

During debates, Harris used more concise, shorter, and well-prepared sentences to go straight to the point she wanted to highlight. Trump used less structured and longer sentences, demonstrating more spontaneity. This spontaneity became the fingerprint of Trump during debates, interviews, and meetings. 

Grammar for emotions

During this U.S. election period, UC Berkeley linguist Nicole Holliday, who spent a lot of her career studying Kamala Harris, posted videos on TikTok explaining how candidates’ speeches were significant indicators of personality and motivations. 

It is highly known that all politicians use specific grammar styles, such as a heavy use of metaphors, to convince voters. On one hand, for Harris, when it comes to speaking about issues that are close to her heart, such as race or abortion, she tends to use more informal language and tone of voice. From the words she uses to her accent, you can spot her intersective identities (Black and South Asian women from California). 

On the other hand, Trump used specific words to emphasise the emotions of fear and urgency in the minds of the American people. Fear and negativity can be surprisingly useful to gain voters’s attention and adherence. For instance, the most shared sentence of this debate, ‘They are eating your pets,’ although very controversial, created urgency and buzz. The new president, Trump, places himself as the absolute saviour for the U.S. The objective for both candidates was to create a proximity with voters. 

Overall, the grammatical variety and significant differences in language use during the U.S. debates demonstrated a clear contrast: Trump leaned on a politics of fear, while Harris championed a politics of hope.