Presidential office converts personal conspiracism into publicly authoritative claims

Evidence

There is no doubt about the consequences in any case: because of the rhetorical power of his office and his institutional capacity as president, his compromised relation to reality ascends from a private to a public condition. Because he is president, his conspiracism is not merely a concoction of his own private mind; it becomes a public thing. As president, Trump’s conspiracist claims have initial authority, a moment of presumptive plausibility, that they would otherwise lack. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 169

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Habermas-style accounts of how institutional position confers presumptive validity on speech, and to Rosenblum’s central argument that new conspiracism erodes democratic legitimacy. — connects to: Fringe conspiracy talking points migrated directly into a presidential campaign via its candidate — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 20; Presidential recognition power makes conspiracism uniquely divisive at the top — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 145; An officeholder’s specious claims carry destructive force once backed by institutional power — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 150 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Conspiracy theories held by a president can be enacted into reality #expands (0.92) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 177
• Presidential conspiracism functions as willful arbitrary rule #expands (0.82) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 312
• Presidential politics mainstreamed conspiracy theory speech #qualifies (0.75) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 449