Jennifer Mercieca

Dr. Jennifer Mercieca’s research focuses on political rhetoric, democracy and the relationship between political discourse and our nation's communication practices. She has published three books about political rhetoric: Founding Fictions, The Rhetoric of Heroic Expectations: Establishing the Obama Presidency, and Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump. She has also contributed to multiple large media outlets on topics such as political discourse as it relates to citizenship, democracy and the presidency. Her scholarship has been published in The Quarterly Journal of Speech, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Argumentation & Advocacy, and Rhetoric Society Quarterly. As an expert in American political rhetoric, she has been called “the leading authority on Trump’s rhetoric” by the Austin American-Statesman, and her books have been recognized and recommended by other major outlets including Politico, Salon and The Washington Post. She is a 2016 recipient of the Texas A&M Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching. She is writing a book on propaganda, and her research continuously aims to make our nation’s communication practices more democratic in the public sphere.