Donald Trump and Narendra Modi are not mere communicators; they are architects of the language of power. A key ingredient in the construction of their personae is words they use. Or the words they don’t use.
This column attempts to dissect their linguistic strategies—Trump’s chaotic but breathless bluster and Modi’s paused and polished control—revealing how they shape perceptions, consolidate authority, and evade accountability.
Trump’s language is an assault on nuances, coherence, and truth. The world is binary, black and white. His is all white. The words he uses the most in the articulation of that world, according to Grok, are “great”, “tremendous”, “fake”, “beautiful”, “smart”, and “deal”.
For Trump, there are only two kinds of humans: winners and losers. The very limited edition of the Trump thesaurus implies these few words are magical in the sense that they are some kind of password to a treasure— if you stick with Trump, you will enter heaven. A heaven with a big border wall, big cars and bars, somewhat resembling Mar-a-Lago.
And indeed, if you stick with Trump, then all the negatives the Democrats associate with him become “fake news”. In fact, it becomes positive. Please recall that in the social media-ised world, truth is what everybody is fighting for: their truth. Truth is no longer founded on facts. Truth is now a feeling.
Indeed, this age has granted so much leave to the idea of feeling that diversity, equity, and inclusion are now antithetical to the development of Trump’s universe.
An aside. Trump and Elon Musk are questioning this liberal order, not just because they want to feel like heresiarchs, but because DEI does not translate to bettering the competition with China or Europe. To dismantle the DEI is to attach weightage to merit. When we need surgery, we do not look for Dalit or Muslim doctors. We look for a good surgeon, no matter their caste and community.
In one of his recent speeches, Trump said “we” must bring back God into the American midst as “Americans can’t be happy without God”. Of course, no one asked why Americans cannot be happy without a god. All language is a substitution for the things it talks about.
The world has so far gone Trump’s way that no one asks him the specifics of his proclamations. The signing of the executive orders is like edicts received from above. This is one way of implying these holy writs were whispered into his ears while he was sleeping.
What do these innocuous-sounding words mean? That he is a crusader for God? He added (in a national prayer breakfast event) that the failed assassination attempts on him have made him stronger: “…something happened. I have become stronger.” In short, Trump sees himself as a messiah. His presidency founded a new Protestant faith, though he is now a non-denominational Christian. And God has spared him for the mission impossible. Trump’s is probably the first evangelist presidency in the US.
There are no Trump speeches without the keywords listed above. His constancy of focus comes with a set of words, which he utters as if dictated by an invisible presence. He is compulsively positive. And this keeps him free of doubts. As Roberto Calasso says in The Book of All Books, an interpretation of the Old Testament, one of the things common to the chosen is the knowledge they are chosen (though they do not always know why). A sense of election. Trump has no doubts about his sense of destiny. Jesus doubted it, and so did prophet Muhammad a few times. But not Trump, not for a nanosecond. He is the man without doubts. The man who knows.
In contrast, PM Narendra Modi’s rhetoric is mostly smooth—a velvet glove concealing an iron fist. His preferred terms—”development”, “nation”, “security”—project a statesmanlike aura. Where Trump fulminates, Modi persuades, even sells. Yet this optimism glosses over stark realities—rising inequality, unemployment, and the Adani bribery scandal. His words dazzle with promises of progress but evade accountability, leaving citizens under-served but still hopeful, grateful.
One must note the great importance of hope here. Without hope, the poor can’t live from day to day. Without hope, the rich can’t get richer. The whole share market works on sentiments: hope.
In India, Rahul Gandhi and his party find it difficult to win elections because they are unable to give hope for a better tomorrow. An alternative to the country.
Modi does not believe in apologies, whether a train derails or a bridge is blown up. He cannot be seen in the wrong. Perhaps the words he most uses are “nation” and “culture” (sanskriti), and Hindu pride. This patriotic facade unites his base but alienates minorities, widening religious and social rifts. Consider Manipur and its political problems. Why wouldn’t Modi visit the place? Because he doesn’t want to be associated with failure.
There is a deep element of dismantling in Modi’s role as PM. As is evident also in Trump. Both men are institutional weakeners. Consider, for instance, the craven conduct of the judiciary in India or in the US, cutting off federal grants to educational institutions unless they align with Trump’s policies.
As new heroes like Trump, Modi, and Putin interact with the history of our times, the language is changing. And with it, our ideas of truth, justice and humanity.
(Views are personal)
(cpsurendran@gmail.com)
C P Surendran | Poet, novelist, and screenplay writer. His latest novel is One Love and the Many Lives of Osip B