In the Name of the President

• In Event: Legitimacy and the Presidency

Abstract

Presidents routinely talk about their predecessors. They often mention their immediate predecessor but also romanticize a president from the past. What explains when and how presidents refer to presidents before them? Which presidents are frequently mentioned, by whom, and for what purpose? To answer these questions, I collected all oral references to past presidents from the second president (John Adams) to the 45th President (Donald J. Trump) and assessed the rhetorical use of presidential mentioning—looking for policy (coded using the Policy Agendas Project) and tone (relying on Diction). I demonstrate that presidents use presidential mentioning as a political tool: To appeal to specific constituencies, to distance themselves from policies they wish to change, to justify their own policies, to reach across the aisle by going above the fray of current politics, and to establish their own legacy.

Authors

• Amnon Cavari, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya

• Benjamin Yoel

• Hannah Lowenkamp