Power and Ideology in Donald Trump’s Address to the Nation on the Iran War (April 2, 2026): A Transitivity Analysis

Abstract

The present study examines the transitivity patterns within the framework of systemic functional linguistics to analyze how different linguistics choices create meaning in discourse. The data consist of the speech delivered by American president Donald Trump when he addresses to the nation on the Iran war on 2nd April 2026. The selected speech was transcribed by using You Tube transcription tool and the clauses were identified and classified into different types of processes such as material, relational, mental, verbal, behavioral and existential processes. The results show that process types are deliberately used to show actions, beliefs, identities, communication, behaviors, and existence in distinct ways. Material process and mental process are used frequently to show representation of actors and actions, identity formation, and assessment within discourse. Moreover, the analysis illustrates that transitivity choices play a role in the construction of power relations and ideological significance by highlighting certain actors, viewpoints and societal realities. The study draws a conclusion that transitivity analysis is a strong linguistic tool for revealing how discourse functions as a mode of representation, stance shaping and ideological significance.