Tactical Implementation of the Reduction Strategy in the Election Debates of H. Clinton and D. Trump

Abstract

Objective. The objective of the present article is to analyze the materials of the pre-election debates of H. Clinton and D. Trump in order to study the tactical implementation of the strategy of reduction as an effective means of manipulative influence. Methods. The main scientific results are obtained using a set of general and special research methods, namely: analysis of video and audio materials of election debates, comparison, synthesis, systematization and generalization of scientific literature. Results. Discourse is one of the most important categories of communication that reflects speech interaction. The subject of special scientific interest in our study is political discourse, in which one of the leading roles is played by manipulative influence on the audience by choosing appropriate tactics, strategies and language tools. The texts of the election speeches of the presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were chosen as illustrative material for the study of manipulative influence strategies. In our study, we rely on the classification of strategies and tactics of manipulative influence, which was proposed by researcher O. Mikhaleva, because this classification allows us to comprehensively consider the main strategies used in political discourse and, consequently, to achieve their goals. In particular, the researcher singles out the strategy of reduction, strategy of increase, strategy of theatricality. In our article, we looked in detail and analyzed the use of American politicians to reduce the strategy. It is established that both candidates actively use the strategy of reduction, which is implemented through appropriate tactics. The strategy for reduction is represented by such tactics as analysis — “minus”, discrediting the opponent, impersonal accusation, exposure, insults, threats.