9/11 Then and Now: How the Performance of Memorial Rhetoric by Presidents Changes to Construct Heroes

This study is concerned with American presidential rhetoric at the cross-section of hero rhetoric and memorial address. It analyzes presidential memorialization of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. 9/11 is arguably the most significant tragedy in recent American history. The purpose of this study is to identify the type of hero each president since 9/11 has attempted to construct of himself for the public and discuss the rationale behind that hero construction. To complete this objective, I analyze the second 9/11 memorial speech from the presidencies of Bush, Obama, and Trump for hero construction. A close reading examining the rhetorical genre, historical context, and keywords reveals the following hero constructions: Bush establishes himself as the war hero who fights back aggressively against a threat; Obama establishes himself as the peacemaker hero who encourages unity and rejects hate that is a result of tragedy; Trump establishes himself as the patriotic activist hero who seeks to return America to a glorious age before the tragedy occurred and prevent future tragedies. This research fills a gap in hero rhetoric and crisis rhetoric which does not have the three presidents in conversation with each other