Trump stages a vision of leadership unfettered by democratic checks and balances.

Trump rallies feature symbolic purges of dissenting voices.

The mechanical quality of Rubio’s performance generated its inadvertent comedy.

By signaling who their supporters are, candidates attempt to demonstrate a key element of who they themselves are.

The policies that political actors embrace are part of the public roles they perform, and their communication of these policies to the public is always to some degree a performance of self.