The Evil Savage Other as Enemy in Modern U.S. Presidential Discourse

Abstract

Republican and Democratic presidents alike have all affirmed the presence of evil because what matters is not the specific form evil takes but the fact that it exists. In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance remarks, for instance, Barack Obama reminded his audience that "evil does exist" (2009-12-10). American presidents not only publicly assume that evil exists as a powerful force in the world, but also that evil is the same enemy that the U.S. has been fighting all along in all its wars, only with different faces. "At its core," said George W. Bush, "it is an ancient battle between good and evil" (2008-05-15). Similarly, talking at NATO headquarters in 2017, Donald Trump portrayed the Cold War and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as events "in the eternal battle between good and evil" (2017-05-25). 10 To define a threatening Other as evil is also a way to designate the Self as good. In the case of America, this Self is believed to be virtuous and blessed by God for doing God's work. Evil actions reveal the character of the national community: "And as a result of this evil," concluded George W. Bush, "we're assessing ourselves" (2002-03-08). "Out of this evil," he said elsewhere, "this Nation has shown the world what a compassionate, kind place we are" (2002-03-01). Of all presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt, George W. Bush has used the word "evil" the most often by far.