Authoritarian Nostalgia and the 2024 US Presidential Election: A Lack of Effective Counter-Narratives

Donald Trump won the 2024 US Presidential Election in a landslide historic victory, highlighting both the great efficacy of his tactics and the great failure of the opposing Democratic Party to effectively counter those tactics. Spurred on by social and alternative media sources, the authoritarian nostalgia at the heart of the Trump Campaign's highly effective messaging is key to understanding his victory. By understanding these dynamics, potential counter-strategies can be developed and implemented. Donald Trump's Republican Party is among the most visible and impactful populist radical right parties in the contemporary global north, with Trump himself coming to represent a figurehead of contemporary radical rightwing populism. This study seeks to explore the use of authoritarian nostalgia in the messaging and rhetoric of the Trump Campaign in the 2024 US Presidential Election. It proposes a mixed methods approach focused on the message framing and language used by the Trump Campaign in ads, social media posts, and speech at rallies by Trump and proxies. Quantitative content analysis will systematically categorise and measure themes of authoritarian nostalgia within campaign materials. These themes will be coded for frequency and prominence, with statistical tools applied to identify patterns across different media types and audiences. Qualitative discourse analysis will complement this approach by examining the contextual and rhetorical strategies employed, focusing on how narratives of nostalgia are framed to evoke emotional resonance, reinforce authoritarian ideals, bolster ingroup/outgroup mechanisms, and connect with social identities to align audiences with rightwing populism. The dual approach proposed ensures both breadth and depth, capturing strategic campaign messaging while situating it within broader socio-political dynamics. Beyond examining the narratives present in Trump Campaign rhetoric, this study takes the next step to consider the absence of effective counter-narratives in the face of these authoritarian nostalgic appeals, exploring how the Democratic Party's rhetoric failed to counter it or provide an alternative narrative to American voters. Although the focus of this analysis is on Trumpist authoritarian nostalgia, the implications and ramifications of this rhetoric can inform wider discussions of counter-strategies and potential interventions thereagainst. This study will contribute to literary debates seeking to understand and interpret the historic victory of Donald Trump in the 2024 US Presidential Election. It will further attempt to generate insight into how other contemporary American political parties might effectively combat the strategies and tactics employed in that victory, to take forward into future elections. If the populist radical rightwing in America today is to be overcome, we must first seek to understand and learn from their recent victory.