Style, not substance, may have accounted for Donald Trump’s Republican nomination and subsequent success before being elected as the 45th US President, according to a new study.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia compared Trump’s speech style and Twitter usage to that of the other top nine Republican contenders.
The 70-year old real-estate mogul and reality star consistently ranked highest in ratings of grandiosity, “I”-statements, informal language, vocal pitch variation, and use of Twitter.
Trump beat Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the knife-edge November 8 polls, defying the odds to become the US President-elect after starting off as a political outsider.
“Trump’s outrageous statements over the course of the campaign led many political pundits to underestimate his chances of success,” said Delroy l Paulhus, professor at UBC.