Master of Arts / This thesis explores how public figures associated with the Tea Party movement used rhetoric to create and perpetuate ideas about who "real" Americans are, what they believe, and how they should act. I analyze books by Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Glenn Beck, and Jenny Beth Martin to demonstrate how they premise "real" American identity on whether or not individuals are perceived to hold a particular set of moral values and beliefs. I ultimately suggest that their rhetorical strategies primed the American public for anti-democratic rhetoric and led to the election of Donald Trump.