Did Trump Say Bloodbath?

Trump Says "Bloodbath" 

According to allsides.com, the Washington Post leans to the right while USA Today leans to the left. 

Presidential Immunity 

The question of leadership and consequence

According to allsides.com, Fox News leans to the right while MSNBC leans to the left. 

Trial to Disqualify Fani Willis in Trump's GA Court Case

NOTE: Another CNN and FOX News comparison, please forgive me! But these two sources are America's most popular. In future reference, there will probably be a lot more blogs using these sources as references. 

According to allsides.com, Fox News leans to the political right while CNN leans to the left.   

The Headlines

Fox News: Fani Willis hearing testimony 'jarring,' 'pure comedy gold,' social media declares

CNN: Takeaways from Fani Willis’ stunning testimony in Georgia

Biden's Age in Question 

According to allsides.com, Fox News leans to the political right while CNN leans to the left.   

The Headlines

Fox News: Foreign outlets pull no punches over Biden ‘confusion’ and ‘rage’ after surprise press conference. With tag: Australian outlet dubs Biden 'confusion-in-chief. 

CNN: Biden tries to lay to rest age concerns, but may have exacerbated them. 

The Story

At a recent press conference, President Biden addressed concern over his age and mental ability to perform as president for an additional four years. Regardless of what party you support, Biden's age has been a controversial subject, and rightfully so?  

In the aftermath of the confernce, both Fox News and CNN recorded the president's visible anger. However, Fox News centered the article around the investigation of Biden's handling of classified documents while CNN reported that " Special counsel Robert Hur’s report released Thursday on Biden’s handling of classified documents effectively ended the matter. But his assertions that Biden was elderly and forgetful ignited a political firestorm that cut directly to the heart of the president’s chief vulnerability in the 2024 election." ( Collison, 2024). I emphasize "ended the matter" because Fox News reports the opposite, insinuating that the President is getting away with a crime. To that point Fox provides a statement by Rep. Hunt (R-Texas) "Let me get this straight. Biden is too cognitively impaired to be charged with a crime, but he’s not too cognitively impaired to be the Commander-in-Chief?" 

On the issue of age and mental capacity, the political divide could not be seen clearer through Fox and CNN reporting of the issue. In sum, Fox News made a point to specify Biden's word blunders during the press conference and even included criticism from the international press. CNN made a point to specify the sensitivity of the age issue. In a lengthy section of the article subtitled " A painful issue", CNN describes age as a challenging issue that many families deal with and criticizes cruel reportings of the issue. Additionally, Trump and Biden are compared as the similarity in age is emphasized. 

The Takeaways

Fox News

• Biden's performance at the press confernce proves his age is an issue as he had several blunders
• Biden's age should not get in the way of legal consequences for the mishandling of classified documentation 
• International media is mocking Biden's age and cognitive ability. 

CNN

• Biden's age was addressed at a press confernce where he confused the name of a President. 
• The investigation of the mishandling of classified documents is over. 
• The media has been cruel in regards to Biden's age-- age is a sensitive issue. 
• Democrats dismiss concerns regarding Biden's age. 

Connection to Class 

How does this connect to our class? Let's explore the concept of "fragmentation". 

In News, the Politics of Illusion by Lance Benett, Benett addresses fragmentation as a form of information bias. He further defines it as the "isolation of stories from each other and from their larger contexts, so that information in the news becomes fragmented and hard to assemble into a big picture." (Citation) With this in mind, it's hard to identify what both the CNN and Fox articles are about as they address many different topics under the umbrella of "Biden's age". Additionally, Bennett emphasizes that fragmentation tends to favor the personal and sensational over context and clarity. Again, this is shown through both articles as they choose to highlight Biden's age over more in-depth matters. 

The question must then be posed, could this information bias prevent the media from effectively serving the American people. If I can offer my opinion on the matter, I believe it does. The presence of fragmentation interrupts the interpretation of the event at hand, ultimately distorting the truth. 

References: 

Colton, E. (2024, February 9). Foreign outlets pull no punches over Biden ‘confusion’ and ‘rage’ after surprise press conference. Fox News Channel  

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/foreign-outlets-pull-no-punches-biden-confusion-rage-surprise-press-conference

Collinson, S. (2024, February 9). Biden tries to lay to rest age concerns, but may have exacerbated them. CNN 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/08/politics/biden-age-concerns-analysis/index.html

Lance Bennett, W. (2016). News: The politics of Illusion, tenth edition. University of Chicago Press.

Image: https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-biden/

Nikki Haley in Nevada's Primary 

According to allsides.com, The Washington Examiner leans to the political right while The Washington Post leans to the left.   

The Headlines: 

• The Washington Examiner: Nikki Haley polls behind ‘none of the above’ option on Nevada primary ballot: Survey

• The Washington Post: Nikki Haley trails ‘none of these candidates’ option by 18 points in Nevada

The topic of discussion today is Nevada's 2024 Primary election. According to surveys taken, Nikki Haley is predicted to lose the state of Nevada in its upcoming primary. It is important to note that Donald Trump does not appear in the state's primary ballot, so Nikki Haley is currently losing to other competitors in the race.   

According to The Washington Examiner, (the) "Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley could lose the Nevada primary to the “none of these candidates” option, according to a new survey, an outcome that would threaten her hopes of defeating former President Donald Trump." In the Examiner's reporting of the story, it is made clear that Haley's campaign is not expected to achieve much success--there are additional polls and statistics included showing her losing in other areas. This is additionally made clear through a quote provided by Revere Solutions CEO Woodrow Johnston that reads “Here’s my conclusion: If Nikki Haley’s going to lose to no one, how can she beat Trump? How can she beat Joe Biden? This whole narrative that she’s the best candidate against Joe Biden is really just kind of shattered because it’s like she can’t even beat literally no one.” The article concludes by suggesting that the upcoming results may be a death knell to Haley's campaign. 

According to The Washington Post, "It’d be one thing to trail former President Donald Trump by 18 percentage points. But former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is losing by that amount to the no-candidate choice in Nevada." The article emphasizes the fact that Haley is still predicted to lose without Trump even being on the primary ballot. The article draws to its conclusion by sharing a quote from Revere Solutions CEO Woodrow Johnston that reads “Here’s my conclusion: If Nikki Haley’s going to lose to no one, how can she beat Trump? How can she beat Joe Biden? This whole narrative that she’s the best candidate against Joe Biden is really just kind of shattered because it’s like she can’t even beat literally no one." Additionally, this article adds a "why" factor in Haley's performance by inserting "Mrs. Haley has herself not campaigned much in Nevada, concentrating instead on her home state of South Carolina and its Feb. 24 primary. She is also trailing badly there." 

Surprisingly, from the two different leaning news reports provided above, the takes are not so DIFFERENT. While the Examiner article is lengthier and provides more evidence that Haley will lose to Trump, the Post article is shorter and implies more that Haley will lose Nevada and not the primary as a whole. Does this suggest that the left still believes there is hope for Haley to be the republican front-runner over Trump? Not exactly....as both articles share the same quote by Woodrow Johnston. The take here seems to be that Haley will lose against Trump.

I will admit this is an interesting start to the blog. It was my hope to find the same story with much different spins on it. But Republicans and Democrats seem to agree; Nikki Haley's campaign may be in some trouble. 

Resources:

Quarshie, M. (2024, January 30). Nikki Haley polls behind ‘none of the above’ option on Nevada primary ballot: Survey. The Washington Examiner https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/2826712/nikki-haley-none-of-the-above-nevada-primary-poll/

Morton, V. (2024, January 30).  Nikki Haley trails ‘none of these candidates’ option by 18 points in Nevada. The Washington Post

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jan/30/nikki-haley-trails-none-these-candidates-option-18/

Image: https://nikkihaley.com/

 ABOUT ME

I am Kaylani Carlo, a Technical Communication major at Kennesaw State University. While not a political science student, politics has always fascinated me and I enjoy staying current with political trends. My hope is that this blog provides readers with all the takes to make informed and unbiased political decisions. 

Welcome to Different Takes

 

Different Takes! 

At this point in time, the truth can be challenging to identify. It doesn't help that information is available from a plethora of sources and platforms, each with its own spin or TAKE on what actually occurred. But why is this? If the truth is what is being reported then how can the information differ based on the platform it was published on. The reason is that the truth is subjective and America, as big and diverse as it is, has a wide population with many different perspectives to offer. It is those different perspectives that cause people to align with a political identity and perspectives differ based on political alliance

With this in mind, I welcome you to Different Takes. This blog will focus on bringing different political perspectives together, from Democrat to Republican, to analyze how the same story can be reworked to align with a specific narrative. 

Stick around to find out how different the same story can be! 

Image: Shutterstock; https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/12/18/18139556/republicans-democrats-partisanship-ideology-philosophy-psychology-marc-hetherington