Securitization of the President: Trump as a national security threat

Employing securitization theory, this article critically evaluates political discourses in the United States involving US President Donald Trump. It makes two main arguments: first, present political discourses against Trump can be understood as part of a concerted securitization process in which Trump's presidency is constructed as a threat to US national security. The securitization of an issue gives credence to the need for emergency measures to resolve a purported threat; within this context, the process aims to justify measures including the emergency impeachment of the President. Next, using primary data gathered from an online questionnaire (n = 529) and secondary data from polling agencies, this article demonstrates that there had been popular resonance and acceptance of the securitization discourse, that sufficient institutional support for impeachment was generated and that there was low coherence of counter-narratives opposed to the securitization. This article highlights how securitization can be undertaken over a protracted span of time through both discourses and practices, and in concert by a slew of actors rather than being carried out by a single lead actor. Importantly, it suggests that analysing audience responses to an unfolding securitizing move can generate valuable insights about the securitization processes and its potential outcomes.