Language in the Media - The Mueller Report

April 22, 2019

The recent release of the long-awaited Mueller report brought mixed reviews. Many conservatives viewed the report as the finalization in the "collusion" debate and the ultimate proof of Trump's exoneration. Democrats, on the other hand, delved into the 500 page investigation and determined that Muller's verdict was a result of something much less flattering. Because most Americans do not have the time or energy to pick through the very in-depth and heavily-redacted report, the positive or negative spin presented by the media heavily influenced the reader's perception of it.

A Fox News article titled "Tulsi Gabbard: Mueller report found 'no collusion took place,' Dems shouldn't push to impeach Trump," praises the Mueller report as a herald of truth in a world of fake news. It several times uses Trump's own rhetoric of "no collusion" to reinforce their support of them. The article later continues, "Now is the time for us to come together as a country to put the issues and the interests and the concerns that the American people have at the forefront, to take action to bring about real solutions for them." This transition to the future emphasizes how the right views the Mueller report as the book end to dark and complicated era. To them the report signifies the beginning of a bright new future, one without the messy liberal lies about the Russia investigation.

On the other hand, the Washington Post article titled "Mueller’s findings: Too stupid to conspire. Too incompetent to obstruct," took a different interpretation. This article characterizes Mueller's conclusion to mean "With all the documentation of Russian collusion piling up, President Trump’s best excuse may be that his people were too incompetent to organize a conspiracy. Luckily for him, an innocent-­by-reason-of-stupidity defense has the virtue of being plausible." Instead of praising the president for not overtly breaking the law (like the Fox News article does), the Washington Post uses it as an opportunity to further criticize the competency of Trump and his team. 

The differing representations surrounding the release of the Mueller report illustrates how partisanship interacts with media. Most news sources have political biases that influence the way they interpret and present current events to their readers. In the face of this, as a reader, it is important to recognize these biases and be skeptical of what we read.

Mueller’s findings: Too stupid to conspire. Too incompetent to obstruct

Tulsi Gabbard: Mueller report found 'no collusion took place,' Dems shouldn't push to impeach Trump