A multi-theoretical analysis of Trump’s rhetorical strategies in the 2025 pro-Israel policy speech

Abstract This paper offers a multi-theoretical analysis of President Donald J. Trump’s rhetorical strategies during the joint press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (February 2, 2025). Combining Speech Act Theory and Gricean pragmatics with the Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP), automated-assisted repetition detection, and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the study traces how clause-level moves accumulate into meso-level frames and macro-level ideological effects. The primary dataset comprised a verbatim, manually transcribed clause-level corpus (241 clauses attributable to Trump), which was coded for speech acts, maxim observance/flouting, evaluative polarity, repetition, metaphor candidates, and delegitimizing language. The results show an assertive-dominated discourse (175 clauses; 72.6%) with substantive commissive presence (38 clauses; 15.8%) and strategic maxim flouting (34 clauses; 14.1%). Verified metaphors appeared in 24 clauses ( ≈ 10%); Israel/Israeli occurred in 36 clauses ( ≈ 14.9%) and clustered repeatedly with alliance and security frames. CDA reveals three intertwined operations: (1) nomination and positive predication that construct alliedness, (2) possession and managerial metaphors that recode intervention as stewardship, and (3) security framings and hyperbolic intensifications that legitimize coercive measures. Methodologically, this paper demonstrates an auditable micro→meso→macro pipeline (with appended codebook, MIP verifications, repetition clusters, and audit trails) and provides an adjudicated empirical resource for future research. The findings highlight how modest linguistic resources, when orchestrated, can produce disproportionate legitimate power in high-stakes diplomatic rhetoric.