Though the term manterrupting is mostly a phenomenon that lives within the social feeds and comment sections of the internet, there is academic research to back it up. Numerous studies have proven that men tend to interrupt women more often than women interrupt men: A 2014 study from the George Washington University found that people of both sexes tend to interrupt women more often than they interrupt men, and in a classic 1975 study of casual conversations between men and women, men were responsible for 47 out of 48 interruptions.
Are Trump’s interruptions just an extreme example of the manterruption phenomenon? Maybe. But there’s also something else going on. Because although there’s plenty of evidence that The Donald doesn’t hold women in very high regard, he doesn’t just interrupt women—he butts in on men, too. He interrupted Jeb Bush seven times over the course of just 80 words during one primary debate, and in last night’s debate, he interrupted moderator Chris Wallace seven times during Wallace’s question about Aleppo alone.
As a linguist, I’d argue that Trump’s seemingly impulsive behavior is actually something he does consciously and intentionally—and not just because of his gender. Despite his spotty business record, Trump is a businessperson who has written (or has at least hired a ghostwriter to write) several books on making deals. It’s therefore likely that his brash interruptions are examples of a time-testing practice in negotiation: misdirection.
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