海角大神

President Trump鈥檚 rhetorical style, under intense scrutiny amid the tragedies and threats of the past week, is nothing new.

From the opening moment of his presidential campaign in 2015, Mr. Trump has prided himself on his practice of stirring up hornet鈥檚 nests. The mockery, the winking calls to violence, the provocative policy moves, the incendiary language seen by critics as fear-mongering 鈥� these are not gaffes. They鈥檙e tools with an eye toward an end: winning.

On Tuesday came another such move 鈥� word of a planned executive order targeting 鈥渂irthright citizenship.鈥澛燭he goal,聽聽is to end the practice of bestowing US citizenship on anyone born on US soil, regardless of whether their parents are citizens. The idea sparked an immediate uproar, and argument over the 14th Amendment, which has long been interpreted to offer wide citizenship rights.聽 聽聽

Many legal experts were skeptical of the idea鈥檚 chances in court. But the timing seems plain: One week before the midterm elections, Trump is fueling the divisive immigration debate, with an eye toward making sure his supporters turn out to vote.

For Trump鈥檚 purposes, this rhetorical style 鈥� both in tone and substance 鈥� is effective. Or at least, it can be interpreted as such. After all, he rode it all the way to the presidency.

When asked Monday night on Fox News if he should dial back his rhetoric, in the wake of Saturday鈥檚 mass shooting at a synagogue and the discovery of pipe bombs mailed to prominent Democrats, he pointed to his supporters鈥� reaction.

鈥淵ou saw the group saying, 鈥楴o, don鈥檛 tone it down, don鈥檛 tone it down,鈥� 鈥澛爃e told Fox host Laura Ingraham, referring to his rally Saturday in Murphysboro, Ill., hours after 11 Jewish worshipers were fatally gunned down in Pittsburgh.

Trump has long faced calls to 鈥渢one it down鈥� 鈥� even, he says, from his own family. At a campaign rally in Boca Raton, Fla., in March 2016, on the eve of the Florida primary, he spoke of how his wife and daughter Ivanka wanted him to act more 鈥減residential.鈥�

鈥淚 sort of like the other way better,鈥� he said playfully.

As a candidate, Trump鈥檚 message often was, 鈥淓lect me, and you鈥檒l see just how presidential I can be.鈥� But in office, he has largely ignored that demand, opting to remain in campaign mode. At a rally last March, 聽as over-the-top boring, before reverting to his usual combative persona.

鈥淭he idea of being provocative is obviously something that鈥檚 been part of his personal doctrine for a while,鈥� says Republican pollster David Winston, a longtime adviser to the Republican leadership in the House and Senate.

But 鈥渢he thing about success is, it鈥檚 blinding,鈥� Mr. Winston adds, both in politics as well as in other arenas. 鈥淏ecause you are successful, you assume everything you did was correct.鈥澛燭hat can cloud a person鈥檚 ability to critique his own performance 鈥� or improve on it.

Some Trump supporters themselves make a similar point. In focus groups and in interviews at rallies,聽some wish out loud that he would cut back on the tweeting and strike a more presidential tone.

The president and his defenders, including White House press secretary Sarah Sanders and son Eric Trump, argue that some of the comments deemed to be overly provocative or offensive were just meant to be entertaining.

When the president praised a Montana congressman last week for body-slamming a reporter during a special election last year, and mimicked the incident, Trump faced criticism for seeming to encourage a violent act.

The president鈥檚 son begged to differ. 鈥淪top, he wasn鈥檛 the guy who body-slammed anybody,鈥� Eric Trump said when questioned about the Montana rally during an appearance on Fox News. 鈥淗e can have fun.鈥�

Moreover, that was 鈥渆xactly why my father won,鈥� the younger Trump added. The public is tired of 鈥減erfectly scripted鈥� politicians who memorize sound bites and have no charisma, he said.

Experts on presidential rhetoric say there鈥檚 something to the argument that the president is just trying to entertain his audience.

鈥淚t might not be a very good excuse, but in some of those instances, it may actually be true,鈥� says Martin Medhurst, a professor of communication and political science at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. 鈥淭his man is nothing if not a showman.鈥�

Still, he adds, 鈥渋t鈥檚 hard to distinguish that from his everyday practices of belittling, and name-calling, and all the things that are clearly not meant to be humorous.鈥�

On the more serious question of whether the president can be held responsible for inciting violence, following the Pittsburgh massacre and the pipe bomb incident, Mr. Medhurst and others say it鈥檚 impossible to draw a direct line between a president鈥檚 rhetoric and another person鈥檚 actions.

But presidential rhetoric matters 鈥� especially at a time of growing political polarization, a trend that long preceded Trump鈥檚 election.聽

鈥淲hen you inflame threats, you don鈥檛 do much to help Americans come together,鈥� says George Edwards, a political scientist at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, and author of a book on the presidential bully pulpit. 鈥淵ou can mouth a few words about, 鈥榃e need to come together,鈥� but when the rest of the rhetoric does not encourage that, it reinforces social divisions that have been rising since Ronald Reagan鈥檚 day.鈥�

Republicans argue that Democrats have also been guilty of inciteful language, pointing to former Attorney General Eric Holder鈥檚 statement, 鈥淲hen they go low, we kick them.鈥� Then there鈥檚 former Vice President Joe Biden, who boasts that if he and Trump were in high school, he鈥檇 鈥渢ake him behind the gym鈥� and beat him up.

Indeed, and when a disgruntled gunman burst into a newsroom in Annapolis, Md., last June, killing five people, Trump wasn鈥檛 blamed 鈥� despite his rhetoric repeatedly attacking the media as the 鈥渆nemy of the people.鈥� In the Annapolis case, the gunman was known to have a specific grievance with the newspaper.

To critics, the 鈥渂oth sides鈥� argument is a dangerous form of false equivalency. And it minimizes the fact that the president has the biggest megaphone in the world.

In the annals of the American presidency, Trump is unique in his ability to dominate public discussion, says Edwards.

But just as striking is the content of the message.

鈥淭rump鈥檚 rhetoric is a rhetoric of fear,鈥� Edwards says. 鈥淗e emphasizes threats to personal safety 鈥� claims that violent crime is soaring, that Islamic terrorists are a dire threat 鈥� and to personal economic status, from foreign trade, global warming, immigration, regulation, the Affordable Care Act. All of these are going to ruin your life.鈥�