Tikrit University

A Pragmatic Analysis of Misrepresentation in American Political Interviews

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Tikrit university, English Department College of Education for Humanties

Abstract
Misrepresentation, whether intentional (fraudulent) or unintentional (innocent), involves false or misleading statements that influence decision-making. Although misrepresentation plays a crucial role in influencing public discourse, it has been largely overlooked in scholarly research from a pragmatic standpoint, especially within the framework of political interviews." This study highlights misrepresentation in political interviews featuring Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris from a pragmatic perspective. The study aims to achieve several objectives: (1) classifying and analyzing the types of misrepresentation employed by American politicians in American political interviews , (2) examining the pragmatic models used by politicians that lead to the distortion of facts in political communication, (3) determining the frequency and prevalence of violations of Grice’s cooperative principle—particularly the maxim of quantity—in political discourse. To address these objectives and test the hypotheses, the study adopts a qualitative supported with numbers and figures. It begins with a comprehensive literature review on misrepresentation from a pragmatic standpoint. A sample of political interviews conducted by the aforementioned politicians across various American media outlets is collected and analyzed using an adapted pragmatic model for qualitative analysis.

Keywords

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Volume 9, Issue 3, Part 2
Summer 2025
Pages 154-172

  • Receive Date 11 April 2025
  • Accept Date 21 May 2025
  • Publish Date 01 September 2025