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Democrats win Congress as Republicans split over who is to blame for losses

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 5 outlets, mostly center (60%).

8 articles in total, 3 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

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Image via The New RepublicHow images are chosenReport this image

Bloomberg and The Federalist report that Democrats won control of the House and Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections. Republicans are divided over who is to blame. The Wall Street Journal editorial board, as reported by The Hill, placed much of the blame on President Donald Trump, and some Republicans told the BBC that his focus on his legacy and indifference to voter concerns cost them. Trump congratulated Democrats for doing “a good job” and said he did not consider the losses a defeat for him, since he was not on the ballot. Maine Republican Bobby Charles, who lost the gubernatorial race, said he was optimistic because Trump would be gone in two years.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Democrats won control of the House and Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Bloomberg
    Center
    France 24
    Far Right
    The Federalist

  2. The Wall Street Journal editorial board placed much of the blame for the GOP losses on President Trump.

    One outletThe Hill· Center

  3. Some Republicans blame Trump for the losses, saying his focus on his legacy and indifference to voter concerns cost them.

    Reported byFar Left1Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The New Republic
    Center
    NewsNation, BBC News

  4. Trump said he did not consider the losses a defeat for him because he was not on the ballot, and that the party would have won had he been running.

    Reported byFar Left1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Boston Globe
    Center
    France 24

  5. Trump congratulated Democrats for doing “a good job” in a Fox News interview early Wednesday.

    One outletBloomberg· Left

  6. Bobby Charles, the Republican who lost Maine’s governor race, said he was optimistic because Trump would be gone in two years.

    One outletThe New Republic· Far Left

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Questions the coverage answers differently, and who says what.

  • Was Trump a drag on Republican candidates?

    Trump said the party would have won had he been on the ballot, as France 24 reports. The Boston Globe, citing an AP Voter Poll, says Trump was a drag on GOP candidates, with only 4 in 10 voters approving of his handling of the presidency.

How each side tells it

Compare views

All sides report that Republicans are divided over who is to blame for the losses. Left and center coverage centers on Trump’s deflection and on Republicans who blame him, while the one right-side piece weighs competing explanations and says the blame game is driven by Trump’s critics.

  • the left

    2 outlets · 1 opinion

    Headlines center Trump, saying he ducks or deflects blame for the losses and praises Democrats, while The New Republic quotes Republicans who blame him.

    Loaded verb“Trump is ducking blame”Ducking implies evasion as settled fact, while the article's own evidence is Trump's public statements about the result.More neutral: Trump is deflecting blameDisagree with this highlight? for Republican losses. It’s a familiar pattern for him.
    The Boston GlobeFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    3 outlets · 1 opinion

    Headlines report Republicans blaming Trump, with The Hill citing the Wall Street Journal board’s “main architect” charge and NewsNation and the BBC pairing Republican criticism with Trump’s deflection.

    'This is a disaster': Angry Republicans blame Trump for midterms defeat
    BBC NewsCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    0 outlets · 1 opinion

    The only right-side piece is a Federalist analysis whose headline weighs competing explanations for the losses rather than naming Trump, and whose text casts the blame game as driven by Trump’s critics.

    The Best And Worst Explanations For Republicans’ Midterm Losses
    The FederalistFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left4

    historic landslide victoryMidterms WreckagebackpedalingTrump is ducking blame

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right1

    terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad night

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    historic landslide victoryMore neutral: Democratic victory

    ‘Historic’ adds a judgement of significance in the outlet’s own voice; the result itself is described as Democrats winning control of Congress.

    After the Democrats’ historic landslide victory on Tuesday, Republicans are looking for whom to blame, and…

    Used byThe New Republic (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    Midterms WreckageMore neutral: midterm losses

    ‘Wreckage’ describes the result more dramatically than the facts require; the other outlets use ‘losses’ or ‘defeat’.

    “Trump Did This”: Republicans Reckon With Midterms Wreckage

    Used byThe New Republic (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    backpedalingMore neutral: had already changed his tone

    The word presents a shift in tone as a retreat from an earlier position, a judgement the excerpt does not establish.

    Trump was already backpedaling even before the full extent of his party’s defeat was known.

    Used byThe Boston Globe (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    Trump is ducking blameMore neutral: Trump is deflecting blame

    Ducking implies evasion as settled fact, while the article's own evidence is Trump's public statements about the result.

    Trump is ducking blame for Republican losses.

    Used byThe Boston Globe (Far Left)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad nightMore neutral: a difficult night for the Republican Party

    The phrase piles up dramatic adjectives to describe the election night, where a plain account of the seats lost would serve.

    As was mostly expected, the Republican Party had a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad night on Tuesday.

    Used byThe Federalist (Far Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

2 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • Trump deflecting blame
  • Republicans pointing at Trump
  • Democrats’ landslide win
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • BloombergLeft

    Trump Praises Democrats, Deflects Blame for GOP Loss

    President Donald Trump congratulated Democrats for doing “a good job” after the party inflicted devastating defeats on his Republican allies, winning back both houses of Congress and picking up several governors’ mansions. …

    Read at Bloomberg (opens in a new tab)
  • The New RepublicFar Left

    “Trump Did This”: Republicans Reckon With Sensational language“Midterms Wreckage”‘Wreckage’ describes the result more dramatically than the facts require; the other outlets use ‘losses’ or ‘defeat’.More neutral: midterm lossesDisagree with this highlight?

    After the Democrats’ Sensational language“historic landslide victory”‘Historic’ adds a judgement of significance in the outlet’s own voice; the result itself is described as Democrats winning control of Congress.More neutral: Democratic victoryDisagree with this highlight? on Tuesday, Republicans are looking for whom to blame, and uncharacteristically, they are openly pointing the finger at President Donald Trump. …

    Read at The New Republic (opens in a new tab)
  • The Boston GlobeFar LeftOpinion

    Loaded verb“Trump is ducking blame”Ducking implies evasion as settled fact, while the article's own evidence is Trump's public statements about the result.More neutral: Trump is deflecting blameDisagree with this highlight? for Republican losses. It’s a familiar pattern for him.

    Trump was already Loaded verb“backpedaling”The word presents a shift in tone as a retreat from an earlier position, a judgement the excerpt does not establish.More neutral: had already changed his toneDisagree with this highlight? even before the full extent of his party’s defeat was known. On election night, he sounded more humble than usual, pledging to work with Democrats and to accept the election results. But he was still seeking to deflect responsibility. …

    Read at The Boston Globe (opens in a new tab)

From the center

3 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • Republicans blaming Trump
  • Wall Street Journal board’s charge against Trump
  • Trump’s deflection
See the 4 headlines from the centerHide the headlines
  • The HillCenter

    Wall Street Journal editorial board: Trump 'main architect' of GOP midterm 'rout'

    The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board cast much of the blame on President Trump for GOP losses Tuesday, as Democrats are poised to take control of both the House and Senate. “Republicans may console themselves that midterm defeats in second presidential terms are common. …

    Read at The Hill (opens in a new tab)
  • NewsNationCenter

    Republicans blame Trump for midterm losses, while Trump points elsewhere

    Read at NewsNation (opens in a new tab)
  • BBC NewsCenter

    'This is a disaster': Angry Republicans blame Trump for midterms defeat

    Some Republicans tell the BBC the president's focus on his legacy and indifference to voter concerns cost them.

    Read at BBC News (opens in a new tab)
  • France 24CenterOpinion

    Trump seeks to shift blame but has 'nowhere to hide' after midterms defeat

    Donald Trump has sought to shift the blame for the Republicans' defeat at the midterms by claiming that if he had been on the ballot the party would have won. …

    Read at France 24 (opens in a new tab)

From the right

0 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • Competing explanations for the losses
  • Trump’s critics in the media
  • Lessons Trump and the GOP should draw
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    1 hr 29 min later

    Its first report, Nov 4, 10:02 AM EST

  • Center

    First to report

    BBC News, Nov 4, 8:33 AM EST

  • Right

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. BBC NewsCenterNov 4, 8:33 AM EST
  2. NewsNationCenterNov 4, 8:43 AM EST
  3. The New RepublicFar LeftNov 4, 10:02 AM EST
  4. The HillCenterNov 4, 10:50 AM EST
  5. BloombergLeftNov 4, 11:21 AM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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