An Analysis of Trump’s Securitization Strategy (2015-2016)

Resumen

Social media, by prioritizing affective communication and disinformation, has been making society increasingly captive to distorted perceptions of migration. From the theoretical perspective of securitization under the Paris School approach, this research analyzes how social media influences securitization strategies. The applied case study focuses on Donald Trump’s 2015–2016 electoral campaign, during which Twitter was used as the main channel of communication with his electorate. Following the Paris School’s analytical framework, Trump’s tweets were analyzed based on a literature review of the context in which he operated, his political profile, and the specific audience aligned with this dynamic. The study shows that Trump positioned himself as a securitizing agent, mobilizing his audience (primarily white, rural, Rust Belt men) to perceive immigrants as a threat despite the absence of concrete evidence, reinforcing stigmas and fears. His strategy, focused on capitalizing on the socioeconomic insecurities generated by decades of neoliberalism and deindustrialization, was thus dependent on specific social and economic contexts.