ABSTRACT
This chapter on visual rhetoric focuses on how visual symbols function to evoke responses in viewers. Guided by Sonja Foss’ visual rhetoric perspective, it draws on both metaphor theory and semiotics to analyze the covers of U.S. and international magazines that feature satiric representations of President Donald Trump. Working with a large database of covers, the author determined ten general theme categories: traitor, insurgent/subversive, demagogue/tyrant, catastrophe, bully, narcissist, mad/insane, misogynist, infantile, and clown/joker—selecting the top three categories for analysis. First, the chapter reviews Trump as an established cultural icon and relates his performances to the concept of “spectacle.” It then applies visual rhetorical analysis to cover images depicting Trump as Putin’s puppet, Trump as an enraged rebel against the world, and Trump as the embodiment of Ku Klux Klan ideologies. The chapter concludes by considering the role of magazine cover art in offering rhetorical visions that are engaging, provocative, humorous, and emotionally strong, often incorporating metaphors, metonyms, and symbolic references.
