The Art of Labeling and Name Calling in Politics: Donald Trump's Success in 2016 Presidential Campaign

In the 2016 Presidential Election, Republican candidate, Donald Trump, used a communication strategy in which he labeled his opponents and naysayers with negative nicknames. Throughout his campaign he labeled opponents as "Crazy Bernie," "Crooked Hillary," "Little Marco," "Lyin' Ted," "Low Energy Jeb" and "Goofy Elizabeth Warren." Donald Trump repeated these nicknames at rallies and over his social media platforms. Donald Trump was elected President in November 2016 and took office the following January. Did these nicknames that Donald Trump used resonate with voters? And if so, who did they resonate with the most? In order to research these questions, the U.S. eligible voting population was given the opportunity to complete a survey asking them a series of questions about choosing the word that best describes these politicians that Trump has labeled. They were also asked questions regarding what political party they are registered to and who they voted for in the 2016 Presidential Election. Results indicated that Trump voting respondents and registered Republican respondents felt the words Donald Trump used to label his opponents described those politicians best, in comparison to other groups and demographics. These findings demonstrate that the nicknames Donald Trump used during his campaign did resonate with certain groups of voters.