FACE-SAVING STRATEGIES IN HILLARY CLINTON’S 2016 CONCESSION SPEECH
FACE-SAVING STRATEGIES IN HILLARY CLINTON’S 2016 CONCESSION SPEECH

Summary/Abstract: The present paper looks into Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Concession Speech, delivered the next day after unexpectedly losing the American Presidential Elections to the Republican candidate, Donald Trump. While the belated speech is emotionally charged to a large extent, we attempt to show in our analysis that the idea of defeat is actually not accepted by the speaker (a feature deeply embedded in the American unconscious, highly competitive and victory-driven); Clinton is forced by circumstances to face loss and turn it into an opportunity to salvage her political persona. Hence, we will aim to prove in our paper that the 2016 Concession speech is at the same time an instance of inspirational discourse, and a discourse imbued with awareness of defeat and consequent face-saving strategies.

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