ABSTRACT
Dis-information has proliferated over digital networks and is now rampant across the political spectrum. While likely an endemic feature of politics, the utility of dis-information as a tactic of statecraft has seen both Russia and China employ dis-information tactics to influence elections, undermine democratic norms, and fuel conspiracy theories in North America and Europe. While much attention has focused on how Russia disrupted the 2016 U.S. presidential election with rumor and conspiracy theory, contributing to the polarization of the American electorate since, insufficient attention has been given to the principal agent of dis-information in American politics: Donald Trump. According to The Washington Post’s fact-checking database, Trump made more than 30,000 false or misleading claims during his time in office, making him the most dishonest president of all time. This chapter examines Trump as an agent of dis-information, the dis-informer-in-chief, from a position of presidential, political rhetoric. Via the examination of his COVID-19 rhetoric, this study demonstrates how Trump’s dis-information within the realm of political rhetoric garnered attention, mainstreamed fringe ideas, and proved impervious to fact-checking.
