Ignoring the President: Barack Obama and the Postrhetorical Presidency

Abstract

The rhetorical presidency model made good sense within the traditional media market of the twentieth century, but makes little sense within the new media market of the new millennium. The era of the rhetorical presidency was characterized by a relationship between the presidency and the press that was reciprocal, mutually beneficial, and stable; the era of the post-rhetorical presidency is characterized by a relationship between the presidency and the press that is independent, competitive, and unstable. The post-rhetorical presidency began with the Bush Administration and flourished with the Obama Administration’s expert use of social and new media. Trump has only continued what his predecessors started.