The January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was the peak of Donald Trump’s populist strategy during his first term. His goal was to gain support through confrontation and by portraying others as enemies. This book examines Trump’s public image from a culture and media studies perspective. It explores how his political style during his rise to the presidency was shaped by social conflicts, how he escalated these tensions, and how he benefited from polarization.

The contributions focus on Trump’s first term, highlighting how his rhetoric during the Black Lives Matter movement and the COVD-19 crisis, as well as his promotion of conspiracy theories and attacks on political institutions, pushed American society to the brink of civil war. They discuss Trump’s use of media and his politics of emotion, framing him as the “Great Disruptor” in the context of popular culture, fragmented public discourse, and aggressive rhetoric.

Lars Koch is a professor of modern German literature and media culture at the Technical University of Dresden, Germany.

Tobias Nanz is a research associate at the professorship for European media studies at the Europa-Universität Flensburg, Germany and, as part of his Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship, an associate professor at the Department of Culture and Language at the Syddansk Universitet Odense Denmark.

Christina Rogers is coordinator of gender and diversity projects for the first Executive Vice President of the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.