Orwellian Newspeak in Trump’s rhetoric

Jorge Costa Oliveira

Trump’s increasingly authoritarian trajectory has sparked fears of a drift toward a society resembling the one depicted by G. Orwell in “1984.”

One of the core pillars of Orwell’s “INGSOC” is the use of a controlled new language, designed to limit the masses’ capacity for critical thought. Here are some examples of Newspeak in Trump and MAGA discourse:

Fake news: Trump uses the term to describe media outlets that criticize or question his actions, in order to build a narrative that these outlets are dishonest and untrustworthy.

Deep State: Trump and MAGA use this term to describe an alleged conspiracy of government officials and bureaucrats secretly working against Trump and the American people.

Globalists: A term used by MAGA leaders to describe those who support international cooperation and multilateral free trade, in order to frame such individuals as threats to American sovereignty.

Invasion: Trump and MAGA use this word to describe illegal immigration, creating a narrative that immigrants pose a threat to national security.

Law and order: Trump and MAGA use the phrase to describe their public security policies, aiming to build a narrative that public order is under threat from criminals and immigrants.

Patriotism: Trump and MAGA use this term to define their own political views, implying that those who disagree with them are unpatriotic.

Peace through strength: As seen recently in the bombings in Iran, the suggestion that U.S. military power can help preserve peace quickly turns into “peace through war” – that is, “war is peace.”

Blacklister: Terms like “vulnerable,” “refugee,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” and phrases such as “climate change,” “greenhouse emissions,” “evidence-based,” “science-based,” and “nation of immigrants” are effectively blacklisted. The assault on “elitist” universities, the slashing of government funding for scientific research, and the dismantling of affirmative action mechanisms for marginalized and vulnerable groups aim to intensify political polarization and secure the loyalty of MAGA’s most hardline base – following the Orwellian principle that “ignorance is strength.”

Data integration [for mass surveillance] under the pretext of “national security”: Trump is placing a centralized government database containing private information of citizens and residents under the control of Palantir Technologies Inc., merging government power with private surveillance tech and paving the way for a digital dictatorship driven by artificial intelligence – setting the stage for “freedom is slavery.”

This is how Orwellian Newspeak is gradually being introduced in the U.S. – the New Oceania.

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