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White House Responds After Chuck Lorre’s Gala Speech About Trump and Melania Trump

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 4 outlets, mostly right-leaning (75%).

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

TV producer Chuck Lorre, co-creator of “The Big Bang Theory” and “Two and a Half Men,” made remarks about President Trump and first lady Melania Trump while accepting an award at the Project Angel Food charity gala in Los Angeles. Lorre used profanity to describe Trump and joked about checking whether he had suffered a heart attack; he also called Melania Trump “a surgically enhanced, cold-hearted Yugoslavian escort who clearly hates her husband.” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle responded in a statement saying Lorre should “immediately seek psychiatric help” for what Ingle called “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Lorre was honored at the event, which some outlets identify as the Founders Angel Award, for contributions to the charity, which provides meals to people with critical illnesses.

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

What happened

Key points

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

  1. Chuck Lorre made remarks about Trump and Melania Trump while accepting an award at the Project Angel Food gala in Los Angeles

    Reported byLeftRight

  2. Lorre called Melania Trump “a surgically enhanced, cold-hearted Yugoslavian escort who clearly hates her husband”

    Reported byLeftRight

  3. Lorre used profanity to describe Trump and joked about checking the news to see if he had a heart attack

    Reported byLeftRight

  4. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said Lorre should “seek psychiatric help” for “Trump Derangement Syndrome”

    Reported byLeftRight

  5. Lorre was honored with an award (described as the Founders Angel Award) for contributions to Project Angel Food

    Reported byLeftRight

  6. The speech took place on Sept. 26 at the Project Angel Food Angel Awards

    Reported byLeft

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • Whether Lorre’s joke about checking for a Trump heart attack amounts to “wishing death” on the president

    Breitbart’s headline states Lorre “wishes death on President Trump,” while other outlets, including Fox News and The Washington Times, quote the remark without characterizing it as a literal wish for his death.

  • Whether the White House’s response was prompt or delayed

    The Daily Beast describes the White House as having “belatedly responded” to the speech, while right-leaning outlets do not characterize the timing of the response.

How each side tells it

Compare views

  • the left

    1 outlet

    The Daily Beast frames the story around the White House’s response to Lorre’s speech, describing it as having come belatedly and situating it within Lorre’s career and the award he received.

    White House Loaded verb“Fires Back”“Fires Back” frames the White House’s statement as combative rather than describing it as a response.More neutral: RespondsDisagree with this highlight? at TV Legend’s Sensational language“Fiery Trump Tirade”“Fiery” and “Tirade” dramatize Lorre’s speech rather than describing its content neutrally.More neutral: Speech About TrumpDisagree with this highlight?
    The Daily BeastFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    3 outlets

    Right-leaning outlets lead with the White House’s rebuke, with Breitbart’s headline additionally characterizing Lorre as having “wished death” on Trump while Fox News and The Washington Times present the exchange more descriptively.

    White House Tells CBS's Chuck Lorre to 'Seek Psychiatric Help' After He Called Melania Trump a 'Yugoslavian Escort'
    Breitbart 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.

  • Left3

    belatedly respondedFires BackFiery Trump Tirade

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right4

    fiery responseWishes Death on President Trumpscathing responsenasty comments

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    fiery responseMore neutral: strong response

    “Fiery” characterizes the tone of the response rather than stating it neutrally.

    …speech targeting President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, prompting a fiery response from the White House.

    Used byFox News (Far Right)

  • Absolutist framing

    Wishes Death on President TrumpMore neutral: Jokes About Trump Having a Heart Attack

    This presents an interpretation of Lorre’s joke about checking for a heart attack as a literal, settled fact rather than a characterization.

    WATCH: 'Big Bang Theory' Creator Chuck Lorre Wishes Death on President Trump, Calls First Lady Melania a 'Yugoslavian Escort'

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    scathing responseMore neutral: sharp response

    “Scathing” adds dramatic emphasis to the White House’s statement rather than describing it neutrally.

    The White House issued a scathing response to CBS television producer Chuck Lorre who made nasty comments about President…

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    nasty commentsMore neutral: critical comments

    “Nasty” passes judgment on Lorre’s remarks rather than describing them neutrally.

    …House issued a scathing response to CBS television producer Chuck Lorre who made nasty comments about President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump during a recent charity…

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

Show 3 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Loaded modifier

    belatedly respondedMore neutral: responded

    “Belatedly” implies a judgment about the timing of the response that is not established as fact in the excerpt.

    The White House has belatedly responded to a fiery tirade against President Donald Trump by a TV legend.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    Fires BackMore neutral: Responds

    “Fires Back” frames the White House’s statement as combative rather than describing it as a response.

    White House Fires Back at TV Legend’s Fiery Trump Tirade

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    Fiery Trump TiradeMore neutral: Speech About Trump

    “Fiery” and “Tirade” dramatize Lorre’s speech rather than describing its content neutrally.

    White House Fires Back at TV Legend’s Fiery Trump Tirade

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

Words quoted from someone else (2)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.

  • Partisan shorthand

    Quoted

    bloatedMore neutral: spending of (amount) or describe the program

    Verdict on spending in place of the figure.

    …of my profession demands that I take this opportunity to say a few words about that bloated orange piece of shit in the White House,” he said at the gala last week, to which the…

    Quoted byBreitbart News (Far Right)

    Inside a quotation: the outlets are reporting someone else’s words.

  • Dehumanizing label

    Quoted

    Trump Derangement SyndromeMore neutral: critics of Trump

    Pathologizes disagreement.

    …Lorre should immediately seek psychiatric help to treat his severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has completely rotted his peanut-sized brain."

    Quoted byThe Washington Times (Right)

    Inside a quotation: the outlets are reporting someone else’s words.

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

1 outlet

Leads with

  • Lorre’s career and the award he received
  • the White House’s response
  • timing of the response

Leaves out

  • the specific “Russian asset” quote attributed to Lorre

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

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    White House Loaded verb“Fires Back”“Fires Back” frames the White House’s statement as combative rather than describing it as a response.More neutral: RespondsDisagree with this highlight? at TV Legend’s Sensational language“Fiery Trump Tirade”“Fiery” and “Tirade” dramatize Lorre’s speech rather than describing its content neutrally.More neutral: Speech About TrumpDisagree with this highlight?

    The White House has Loaded modifier“belatedly responded”“Belatedly” implies a judgment about the timing of the response that is not established as fact in the excerpt.More neutral: respondedDisagree with this highlight? to a fiery tirade against President Donald Trump by a TV legend. Chuck Lorre, the 73-year-old co-creator of sitcoms Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, unleashed on Trump, 80, at a Project Angel Food fundraiser on Sept. …

    Read at The Daily Beast (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

3 outlets

Leads with

  • the White House’s rebuke and exact quotes
  • Lorre’s profanity and insults toward Trump and Melania Trump
  • the charity gala setting
See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, 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 day 18 hr later

    Its first report, Oct 5, 12:34 AM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    Fox News, Oct 3, 6:00 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Fox NewsFar RightOct 3, 6:00 AM EDT
  2. Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 3, 11:46 AM EDT
  3. The Washington TimesRightOct 3, 12:30 PM EDT
  4. The Daily BeastFar LeftOct 5, 12:34 AM EDT

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

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