Influence of the Presidential Inaugural Address on Audience Perceptions of Candidate Image and the State of the Nation

This study asks whether and how the presidential inaugural address influences American audiences. The current study explores how the 2017 Presidential Inaugural Address of Donald Trump influences audiences. Two areas were studied: Candidate image and the state of the nation. I hypothesized that participants who watched the address would have different attitudes regarding candidate image and the state of the nation compared to non-viewers. I also hypothesized that viewers of the address who voted for Donald Trump would respond differently to candidate image and the state of the nation when compared with those who did not vote for Trump. With one exception, none of the findings was significant. That is, attitudes of inaugural address viewers and non-viewers were similar, and attitudes of those who voted for the president and those who did not vote for the president were also similar. The exception was noted between those who voted for the candidate and oppositional voters: Those who voted for Donald Trump reported the nation is headed in the right direction while dissenters disagreed