Donald Trump in the Frontier Mythology

This book explores the presidential image of Donald Trump as it is constructed by the media within American national mythology, precisely the frontier myth. By offering an account of three milestones in the development of the frontier mythology in its intersection with presidential imagery, the book shows how the image of Donald Trump fits into the line of "cowboy presidents," together with Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. It also offers insights into the reasons for making Russian president Vladimir Putin a part of Trump’s story and a routinely mentioned figure in American presidential politics. Applying the means of philosophical anthropology to this topical issue at the intersection of politics and the media, this volume will appeal to those working and studying in the areas of media studies, political anthropology, American studies, and myth studies.

Preface "The toughest guy in the office" The tough guy theme in politics Masculine politics and the origin of the tough Theodore Roosevelt: thebecoming of the frontier and the arrival of the hero Performative frontier: staging the myth The enduring contradiction of myth The land and the man The man and the towners The girl: gendered opposition Ronald Reagan: extension of the frontier and inversion of the hero Myth gains primacy The exhauster of myth Donald Trump: recovered meanings of the frontier and resurgence of the hero Back to the beginning New scapes: cowboy goes metropolitan Myth continued Vladimir Putin: "stolen" meanings of the frontier and a supplementing hero Here comes the villain "Is he one of us?" Concluding thoughts

Olena Leipnik is Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Sam Houston State University, USA.