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 busy days.
The selection of speakers and their choice of words reflected both the sharp campaign rhetoric and the Republican Party’s rewritten platform for 2024.
Leaving aside everyday words, the most commonly spoken words were:
Words about the economy
Economic concerns were a recurring theme at the convention. Speakers highlighted the “skyrocketing” or “shocking” prices of gasoline and groceries, with Florida Senator Rick Scott describing a vision of $10 per gallon if President Biden wins a second term.
Commonly used words when talking about economics include:
Words about immigration
Speakers described “millions of illegal aliens” crossing the southern border and promoted the idea of a rise in migrant crime with descriptions of “murderers and rapists” and “criminals and terrorists.”
Some words that are often used when talking about immigration:
Words from notable speakers
Circles indicate how often these selected speakers used the following words.
| Ted Crotch |
Nikki Haley |
Ron DeSantis |
Donald Trump Jr. |
JD Vance |
Donald J. Trump |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Economy |
– |
– |
– |
– |
4 |
6 |
| Company |
– |
1 |
– |
1 |
6 |
2 |
| Job(s) |
1 |
– |
– |
– |
8 |
22 |
| Taxes) |
– |
– |
1 |
– |
1 |
21 |
| Inflation |
– |
1 |
– |
1 |
1 |
14 |
| Trump |
4 |
15 |
7 |
7 |
16 |
8 |
| Ball |
1 |
– |
– |
3 |
4 |
11 |
| Assassin |
– |
– |
– |
1 |
3 |
4 |
| Biden |
2 |
7 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
2 |
| Haris |
– |
2 |
– |
– |
2 |
– |
| God |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
9 |
| Love |
1 |
– |
– |
4 |
14 |
22 |
| Border |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
21 |
| Invasion |
2 |
2 |
– |
1 |
1 |
13 |
| Illegal |
5 |
– |
1 |
2 |
1 |
9 |
| Immigrant, immigration |
3 |
– |
1 |
– |
1 |
5 |
| Aliens |
– |
– |
1 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
| Murdered, murderer |
3 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
6 |
| Raped |
3 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
1 |
| Lies, lied |
– |
– |
– |
10 |
1 |
– |
| War |
– |
4 |
– |
– |
3 |
17 |
| Israel |
– |
2 |
– |
– |
– |
4 |
| Gaza |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
| Hamas |
– |
3 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
| Terrorist |
– |
2 |
– |
– |
– |
1 |
| Nuclear energy |
– |
2 |
– |
– |
– |
6 |
| Afghanistan |
– |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
| Iran |
– |
4 |
– |
– |
– |
8 |
| Ukraine |
– |
2 |
– |
– |
– |
4 |
| Russia |
– |
– |
– |
1 |
– |
9 |
| Putin |
– |
4 |
– |
1 |
– |
– |
| China Chinese |
– |
– |
– |
– |
5 |
14 |
| healthcare |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
| Abortion |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
Photos by Kenny Holston/The New York Times
Most words?
Donald J. Trump spoke 12,219 words in 92 minutes, the longest acceptance speech according to 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 was 12,055 words long and reflected the Republican Party platform of a century earlier, with repeated mentions of “business prosperity,” “antitrust legislation,” and “interstate railroads”:
Missing words
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
The Republican Party’s policy positions on some controversial issues have become less popular with voters, particularly abortion restrictions and attacks on the Affordable Care Act. Speakers have steered clear of such talking points.
The word “abortion“did not appear in the 110,000 words transcribed, although the sentence “born and unborn” appeared twice, and “pro-life” And “pro-choice“each appeared once.
“healthcare“was mentioned three times, and there were only four references to “regulations” or “prescribed medicines.“
More words to come
The Democratic National Convention will be held in Chicago from August 19 to 22, but it has not yet been confirmed whether Biden or someone else will be the nominee.
