The Orwellian “Amerika” of Donald J. Trump?

Abstract

Is President Donald J. Trump really George Orwell’s Big Brother in the flesh? Ever since Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, the mainstream American media have depicted him as such, with his defenders in the conservative press and broadcast outlets accusing his opponents of doublethink and thoughtcrime. This article examines the extraordinary way in which the Trump administration has become a magnet for the language of Newspeak, a contested site where the catchwords of 1984 are bandied ceaselessly by his allies as well as his adversaries.