‘Presidential’ is in the ear of the beholder

Abstract President Donald Trump’s communication style is idiosyncratic, with a conversational but aggressive or threatening tone, hypermasculinity, and lower linguistic complexity ( Reyes 2020 ; Scotto di Carlo 2020 ; Smith and Higgins 2020 ). These unique qualities should set him apart from other US presidents, making him easily recognizable. This study tests whether Americans can recognize Trump, Bush, and Obama based on their quotations. It was predicted partisans could easily identify Trump when reviewing threatening (compared with reassuring or neutral) statements because of his signature style and because anxiety prompts greater deliberation. While liberals and moderates enjoyed some success, conservatives couldn’t distinguish Trump from Obama at any threat level. Findings indicate that partisans fail to reach the same conclusions because they perceive statements differently, suggesting that divergent partisan perspectives begin with early differences in partisan perception. Thus, what’s perceived as “normal” depends upon ideology and the degree of threat, triggered by rhetorical cues.