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Trump says he would beat Obama in hypothetical race and calls him overrated

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 6 outlets across the spectrum.

7 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

President Donald Trump told Stephen A. Smith in an interview that he would “easily” beat former President Barack Obama in a hypothetical matchup, and called Obama “overrated.” Trump said he had received more votes than Obama and held the record for the most votes in Texas and Florida, and he said he did not think Obama was a good president. HuffPost cites a June CNN poll in which 57% of Americans viewed Obama favorably and 34% viewed Trump favorably. CNN political commentator Jamal Simmons called the claim “ludicrous” on Erin Burnett OutFront, Raw Story reports. HuffPost reports the remarks came days after Republican losses in last week’s midterm elections.

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. Trump said in an interview with Stephen A. Smith that he would easily beat Barack Obama in a hypothetical matchup.

    Reported byFar Left2Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    HuffPost, Raw Story
    Center
    Newsweek
    Far Right
    Fox News

  2. Trump called Obama overrated in the interview.

    Reported byFar Left1Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    HuffPost
    Center
    Newsweek
    Far Right
    Fox News

  3. Trump said he had received more votes than Obama and held the record for the most votes in Texas and Florida.

    One outletHuffPost· Far Left

  4. CNN political commentator Jamal Simmons called the claim ludicrous on Erin Burnett OutFront.

    One outletRaw Story· Far Left

  5. Trump made the remarks days after Republican losses in last week’s midterm elections.

    One outletHuffPost· Far Left

  6. A June CNN poll cited in the coverage found 57% of Americans viewed Obama favorably and 34% viewed Trump favorably.

    One outletHuffPost· Far Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three sides report that Trump said he would easily beat Obama in a hypothetical matchup and called him overrated. The left-rated outlets add CNN commentary ridiculing the claim and polling showing Obama better liked than Trump, while Fox News frames it as a third-term race.

  • the left

    3 outlets

    Left-rated headlines center on Trump’s self-assessment and his comments on Obama, with HuffPost framing it as a claim about himself and Raw Story spotlighting a CNN panel’s ridicule.

    Trump Sensational language“Really Just Said This”The wording suggests surprise or drama beyond the plain fact that Trump made the remarks.More neutral: Trump Said This About Himself And Barack ObamaDisagree with this highlight? About Himself And Barack Obama
    HuffPostFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    2 outlets

    Newsweek’s headline leads with Trump’s ‘easily’ claim and frames the remarks as a potential presidential race; Newsweek is the only center-rated outlet here.

    Trump Says He'd Beat Obama 'Easily' in Potential Presidential Race
    NewsweekCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    1 outlet

    Fox News, rated Far Right and the only right-side outlet here, leads with Trump’s ‘highly overrated’ remark and frames the matchup as a hypothetical third-term election.

    Donald Trump calls Barack Obama 'highly overrated' and claims he'd win a third-term matchup
    Fox NewsFar 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

    unloadsboastjust presided overReally Just Said This

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    unloadsMore neutral: criticizes

    “Unloads” signals a forceful, hostile attack, while the report describes a panel’s criticism.

    ‘It’s ludicrous’: CNN panel unloads on Trump’s boast about beating Obama

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    boastMore neutral: claim

    “Boast” presents Trump’s claim as bragging before the claim is assessed.

    ‘It’s ludicrous’: CNN panel unloads on Trump’s boast about beating Obama

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    just presided overMore neutral: whose party suffered losses in

    The phrase assigns Trump personal responsibility for the midterm losses, which is a judgement rather than a plain fact.

    “Yeah, I think I’d beat him easily, yeah,” said Trump, who just presided over his party’s historic losses in last week’s midterm elections.

    Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    Really Just Said ThisMore neutral: Trump Said This About Himself And Barack Obama

    The wording suggests surprise or drama beyond the plain fact that Trump made the remarks.

    Trump Really Just Said This About Himself And Barack Obama

    Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

Words quoted from someone else (1)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

  • Sensational language

    Quoted

    ludicrousMore neutral: incorrect

    “Ludicrous” is a strong judgement, though it is attributed to a commentator in quotation.

    “It’s ludicrous,” CNN political commentator Jamal Simmons said on “Erin Burnett OutFront.” The…

    Quoted byRaw Story (Far Left)

    These are Jamal Simmons’s words. The outlets are reporting them.

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

3 outlets

Leads with

  • Trump’s claim about his own vote totals
  • his claim to bring people together
  • CNN commentary ridiculing the claim
  • Obama’s higher favorability in polls
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    CNN Panelist Roasts Trump’s Fast Food Obsession

    A CNN panel roasted President Donald Trump for boasting that he could “easily” beat Barack Obama in a hypothetical presidential race. The 80-year-old president made his claim on Stephen A. Smith’s podcast, Straight Shooter . …

    Read at The Daily Beast (opens in a new tab)
    1 more from The Daily Beast
  • HuffPostFar Left

    Trump Sensational language“Really Just Said This”The wording suggests surprise or drama beyond the plain fact that Trump made the remarks.More neutral: Trump Said This About Himself And Barack ObamaDisagree with this highlight? About Himself And Barack Obama

    The president really thinks he “brings people together.”

    Read at HuffPost (opens in a new tab)
  • Raw StoryFar Left

    ‘It’s Sensational language“ludicrous”“Ludicrous” is a strong judgement, though it is attributed to a commentator in quotation.More neutral: incorrectThese are Jamal Simmons’s words. The outlet is reporting them.Disagree with this highlight?’: CNN panel Loaded verb“unloads”“Unloads” signals a forceful, hostile attack, while the report describes a panel’s criticism.More neutral: criticizesDisagree with this highlight? on Trump’s Loaded verb“boast”“Boast” presents Trump’s claim as bragging before the claim is assessed.More neutral: claimDisagree with this highlight? about beating Obama

    President Donald Trump ’s insistence that he could easily defeat former President Barack Obama in a hypothetical presidential election drew ridicule Thursday from a CNN panel, with one commentator suggesting there was only one contest Trump could win. …

    Read at Raw Story (opens in a new tab)

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • Trump’s claim he would win against Obama
  • repeated swipes at Obama in the interview
  • the potential presidential race framing
See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines
  • The HillCenter

    Trump says he would 'easily' beat 'highly overrated' Obama

    President Trump claimed in a new interview that he could “easily” beat former President Obama in a political match-up, days after Republicans experienced sweeping losses in the midterm elections. …

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

    Trump Says He'd Beat Obama 'Easily' in Potential Presidential Race

    In a sit down with Stephen A. Smith, Trump took repeated swipes at Obama, while saying he could beat him in a hypothetical race.

    Read at Newsweek (opens in a new tab)

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • Trump’s ‘highly overrated’ remark about Obama
  • a hypothetical third-term election
  • Trump’s claim he would easily win

Leaves out

  • CNN commentator Jamal Simmons calling the claim ludicrous

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the headline from the rightHide the headlines
  • Fox NewsFar Right

    Donald Trump calls Barack Obama 'highly overrated' and claims he'd win a third-term matchup

    President Donald Trump told Stephen A. Smith he'd "easily" beat former President Barack Obama in a hypothetical third-term election, calling him "overrated."

    Read at Fox News (opens in a new tab)

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

    First to report

    Raw Story, Nov 12, 8:56 PM EST

  • Center

    2 hr 45 min later

    Its first report, Nov 12, 11:41 PM EST

  • Right

    28 min later

    Its first report, Nov 12, 9:24 PM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Raw StoryFar LeftNov 12, 8:56 PM EST
  2. Fox NewsFar RightNov 12, 9:24 PM EST
  3. NewsweekCenterNov 12, 11:41 PM EST
  4. HuffPostFar LeftNov 13, 4:02 AM EST
  5. The Daily BeastFar LeftNov 13, 4:20 AM EST
  6. The HillCenterNov 13, 8:38 AM EST

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

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