The Contextual Presidency: The Negative Shift in Presidential Immigration Rhetoric

policy. Presidential rhetoric, however, does not match the tone of the platforms. There are negative frames (illegality, criminality, terrorism, and economic threats) in nearly 50 % of immigration speeches. We argue that social context motivates presidents to talk about immigration negatively. This analysis provides insight into rhetoric as responsive to context rather than a mechanism of power. We coded each speech on immigration from Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, and found statistically significant results that show that immigration rhetoric is more negative when certain social conditions are present. Neustadt’s (1991) claim that presidential power is the power to persuade highlights the expectation for what presidents are supposed to do with their rhetoric. The rhetoric is supposed to bring about a desired result. Therefore, the literature on presidential rhetoric often focuses upon what presidents attempt to accomplish with the use of their rhetoric (Smith 1983). Kernell (2007) maintains that presidents “go public ” with their requests with the hope that it will translate into policies. The most celebrated studie