Stylometric analysis of the Inaugural, state of the Union, and farewell addresses

Abstract As soon as they are in power, the US president must explain and justify their actions through speeches, the most important of which are the inaugural, State of the Union (SOTU), and farewell addresses. It has been admitted that these three text genres present distinct characteristics, and thus could form different categories. Based on the stylometric analysis of discourses made by Reagan, Clinton, G. W. Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden, this study reveals the distinctive style and rhetoric of these types of speeches. Clearly, two well-defined speech genres appear: one regrouping the inaugurals, the other the SOTUs. Compared to the speeches of previous presidents, those of Biden and Trump have a more conversational tone and focus more on moral values in the former and on glorious terms (e.g., hero, incredible) for the latter.