Politeness Strategies in Donald Trump's Interview on Youtube Channel

Abstract

This research explores politeness strategies used in the Impaulsive YouTube podcast video featuring Donald Trump, focusing on how such strategies are applied and influenced by sociological factors. The study is grounded in Brown and Levinson’s (1987) theory of politeness, which classifies strategies into bald on record, positive politeness, negative politeness, and off record. As modern digital media like podcasts become new platforms for political figures, understanding politeness in such contexts is vital for analyzing how language shapes public perception and maintains social harmony. The data source is utterances along episode 418 of the Impaulsive podcast, transcribed into text form, and analyzed using qualitative descriptive methods. The findings show that the most frequently used strategy is positive politeness (49.26%), followed by bald on record (19.4%), off record (17.91%), and negative politeness (13.43%). The dominance of positive politeness suggests efforts to build rapport, maintain solidarity, and create a relaxed yet respectful atmosphere between hosts and guest. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that three sociological factors, relative power, social distance, and rank of imposition, significantly influence the choice of strategy. The study concludes that when deciding on the politeness strategy employed in communication to preserve relationships, sociological considerations are crucial. This research contributes to the growing field of pragmatics by highlighting how digital political discourse adapts politeness strategy for broader, informal audiences.