The article deals with the axiological aspect of the use of phraseological units and proverbs in the speech of a political leader, which contributes to the formation of his image in the public space. Three axiological dyads ("labor/idleness"; "truth/falsehood"; "sincerity/hypocrisy") are singled out, and the mechanisms for modeling the speech portrait of a politician based on the "us/them" dichotomy are shown.
In political discourse, the meaning of phraseological units and proverbs can be complicated by additional connotations, depending on the speaker's communicative strategy.