Politics
Words Used at the Republican National Convention
J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press
Speakers at the Republican National Convention used more than 110,000 words over four boisterous days.
The selection of speakers and their choice of words reflected both the pointed campaign rhetoric and the rewritten platform of the Republican Party in 2024.
Excluding common and routine words, the most frequently spoken words were:
Words on the Economy
Economic concerns were a recurring theme of the convention. Speakers stressed the “skyrocketing” or “shocking” prices of gas and groceries, with Senator Rick Scott of Florida describing a vision of $10 a gallon if President Biden wins a second term.
Frequently used words when talking about the economy included:
Words on Immigration
Speakers described “millions of illegal aliens” crossing the southern border, promoting the idea of a migrant crime surge with descriptions of “murderers and rapists” and “criminals and terrorists.”
Some of the words frequently used when discussing immigration:
Words From Notable Speakers
Circles show the number of times that these selected speakers used the following words.
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Photographs by Kenny Holston/The New York Times
Ted
CruzNikki
HaleyRon
DeSantisDonald
Trump Jr.J.D.
VanceDonald J.
Trump
Economy
Business
Job(s)
Tax(es)
Inflation
Trump
Bullet
Assassin
Biden
Harris
God
Love
Border
Invasion
Illegal
Immigrant, immigration
Aliens
Murdered, murderer
Raped
Lies, lied
War
Israel
Gaza
Hamas
Terrorist
Nuclear
Afghanistan
Iran
Ukraine
Russia
Putin
China, Chinese
Health care
Abortion
The Most Words?
Donald J. Trump spoke 12,219 words over 92 minutes, the longest acceptance speech timed by the American Presidency Project since at least 1956.
The only known Republican acceptance speech with a comparable word count was William Howard Taft’s in 1908. That speech ran to 12,055 words and reflected the Republican Party’s platform of a century ago, with repeated mentions of “business prosperity,” “anti-trust law” and “interstate railroads”:
Missing Words
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
The Republican Party’s policy positions on some controversial matters have become less popular with voters, most notably abortion restrictions and attacks on the Affordable Care Act. Speakers steered clear of such talking points.
The word “abortion” did not appear in the 110,000 transcribed words, though the phrase “born and unborn” appeared twice, and “pro-life” and “pro-choice” each appeared once.
“Health care” was mentioned three times, and there were only four references to “prescriptions” or “prescription drugs.”
More Words to Come
The Democratic National Convention will be held Aug. 19-22 in Chicago, though it is not yet confirmed whether Mr. Biden or someone else will be the nominee.