@ehBeth,
Quote:massively, massively
I think you might enjoy this CNN compilation of Trump's speech habits.
video here
Repetition is the one that caught my attention early on. He does it all the time. All the time. I mean, all the time. Believe me, it's all the time.
I've been trying to figure out what function his unusual speech habits play in his communications. I think I can conclude that most or all serve to bully and to dominate others.
If we take repetition, for example, we can see that this serves several purposes:
1) it is filler. He seldom has much if any knowledge about the subject addressed, so filler provides a means to continue to hold the floor and deny others the space to query or criticize. This is about domination.
2) it serves as something like a rhetorical hammer blow - eg, "He is weak, weak, weak!" "She is crooked. Really crooked." This is bullying the listener with repeated absolutisms.
3) it serves as a pretense or cover that he's an authority on the matter when he is almost always is anything but that. He's suggesting certainty.
Most of his speech habits follow this pattern and can be, I think, properly understood as bullying/dominance behavior.
