DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.189516.1 ISSN: 2046-1402

How Does Indonesian Headline News Represent Donald Trump’s Power through Threat and Diplomacy Discourse?

Libra Dui Putra, Muhamad Saiful Mukminin, Muhammad Arif Ikhsanudin, Joana Maria Zettira Da Costa, Yayan Restyandi
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Donald Trump has become one of the most prominent political figures frequently represented in global media discourse, particularly in issues related to international conflict and diplomacy. This study investigates the representation of Donald Trump’s power through threat and diplomacy discourse in Indonesian news headlines. Using the perspectives of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the objectives of this study are to identify the language choices used in representing Donald Trump and to analyze the power relations and ideologies constructed by Indonesian media through news headlines. This research employs a qualitative approach with descriptive and interpretative methods. The data consist of Indonesian news headlines related to Donald Trump published in Antara News. Data were collected by searching headlines using the keyword “Donald Trump” and then classifying them into threat and diplomacy discourse categories. The data were analyzed using a qualitative data analysis model, including compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding. This study shows that Indonesian news headlines represent Donald Trump through threat and diplomacy discourses. Threat discourse is constructed through verbal and material processes indicating pressure, intimidation, and coercive actions, while diplomacy discourse is represented through verbal, mental, and material processes reflecting negotiation and cooperation. These representations position Trump as a dominant political actor with military and diplomatic authority. The findings also reveal that media language reflects power relations and reproduces the ideology of United States hegemony. Therefore, news headlines shape public understanding of global power, conflict, and diplomacy.

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