Résumé:
This thesis aims to explore consistency or shift in Donald Trump’s Middle East ideology
across his presidency (2017–2021) and 2024 presidential campaign, with a focus on Israel-Palestine, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Employing a qualitative comparative research design and based on Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis, and Entman’s Framing Theory, selected tweets and speeches are analyzed to assess Trump’s ideological consistency and/or shift. The
analysis reveals a consistent ideological stance rooted in U.S. exceptionalism, while his 2024 campaign adopts a more populist and extreme danger narrative comparing to the previous administrations. Trump's 2024 rhetoric shows two sides of his approach to the Middle East.
He prioritizes strategic alliances with Israel and Saudi Arabia, which serves his interests while he normalizes occupation and military sanctions against countries that calls for justice and resistance like Palestine and Iran. Revealing a clear rhetorical shift from transactional language to glorifying colonialism, military sanctions and maintaining a strategic silence to protect his alliances and achieve his electoral ambitions.
