Presidential Communication

Presidential communication refers to the means for shaping and mobilizing varied publics and is a primary tool used by presidents in their attempts to implement policy objectives. Communicative acts are called into play by exigencies, problems for which persuasion can affect potential outcomes.

More narrowly, a rhetorical perspective on presidential communication attends to the social construction of meanings; the intersection of message, audience, and context, where meaning is layered and multivocal, contingent and negotiated. The president offers recommendations and directives, and, perhaps more important, tenders worldviews, values, and moral and ethical direction. The president's communication, in conjunction with other actors including the media, shapes the context in which discussion, potential solutions, and evaluation are understood. Exercise of rhetorical choice is often addressed as agenda setting, framing, ...