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En skjuten Donald Trump

Byrelid, Anna LU and Asserlind Jönsson, Elsa LU (2025) STVA23 20251
Department of Political Science
Abstract
This study explores how three major American newspapers – The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today – portrayed Donald Trump in the immediate context of the assassination attempt on July 13, 2024. Using a qualitative content analysis complemented by simple quantitative coding, the research examines articles published the day before and the day after the event. The findings reveal significant variation in tone, framing, and ideological positioning between the newspapers, with clear distinctions both before and after the attack. Liberal-leaning The New York Times maintained a predominantly critical stance, even post-incident, emphasizing Trump’s perceived threats to democratic values. In contrast, the conservative Wall... (More)
This study explores how three major American newspapers – The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today – portrayed Donald Trump in the immediate context of the assassination attempt on July 13, 2024. Using a qualitative content analysis complemented by simple quantitative coding, the research examines articles published the day before and the day after the event. The findings reveal significant variation in tone, framing, and ideological positioning between the newspapers, with clear distinctions both before and after the attack. Liberal-leaning The New York Times maintained a predominantly critical stance, even post-incident, emphasizing Trump’s perceived threats to democratic values. In contrast, the conservative Wall Street Journal shifted markedly toward sympathetic and heroic portrayals, framing Trump as a symbol of strength and resilience. The ideologically moderate USA Today largely retained a neutral tone, though it too demonstrated a subtle increase in positive coverage after the attack. The results support the polarization hypothesis, suggesting that even during moments of national crisis, media outlets reinforce pre-existing ideological divisions rather than converge around a unifying narrative. (Less)
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author
Byrelid, Anna LU and Asserlind Jönsson, Elsa LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVA23 20251
year
type
L2 - 2nd term paper (old degree order)
subject
keywords
Donald Trump, Tonläge, Mordförsök, Amerikanska tidningsartiklar, Ideologisk profil, Framing.
language
Swedish
id
9190583
date added to LUP
2025-08-07 17:01:47
date last changed
2025-08-07 17:01:47
@misc{9190583,
  abstract     = {{This study explores how three major American newspapers – The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today – portrayed Donald Trump in the immediate context of the assassination attempt on July 13, 2024. Using a qualitative content analysis complemented by simple quantitative coding, the research examines articles published the day before and the day after the event. The findings reveal significant variation in tone, framing, and ideological positioning between the newspapers, with clear distinctions both before and after the attack. Liberal-leaning The New York Times maintained a predominantly critical stance, even post-incident, emphasizing Trump’s perceived threats to democratic values. In contrast, the conservative Wall Street Journal shifted markedly toward sympathetic and heroic portrayals, framing Trump as a symbol of strength and resilience. The ideologically moderate USA Today largely retained a neutral tone, though it too demonstrated a subtle increase in positive coverage after the attack. The results support the polarization hypothesis, suggesting that even during moments of national crisis, media outlets reinforce pre-existing ideological divisions rather than converge around a unifying narrative.}},
  author       = {{Byrelid, Anna and Asserlind Jönsson, Elsa}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{En skjuten Donald Trump}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}