Study: Media don't celebrate Trump's Covid diagnosis
The media’s coverage of Donald Trump’s bout with Covid-19 has been largely free of “just desserts” narratives, while attacks against him for being irresponsible have grown as the president has recovered, according to a new study.

A NexisUni database search of news on Oct. 3-4, the two days following Trump’s positive test announcement, maxed out at 10,000+ hits for “Trump and Covid.” (Maxed out means there were at least 10,000 stories, though the database shows only the first 10,000). Of these, only a small number of stories contained “just desserts” keywords like “karma” (114), “deserved” (370), “inevitable” (265), and “ironic” (65). There were even 126 hits for “didn’t deserve.” If fact, the phrase “just desserts” was found only twice in this search.

Using the total of 10,000 news stories on Trump and Covid on these two days, even the most frequently appearing “just desserts” keyword, “deserved,” appeared in just 3.7% of the stories. Clearly, the media steered clear of most attacks that would imply that Trump got what he deserved, as well as language that might be seen as celebrating Trump’s infection. To do otherwise would have given right-wing media the red meat they crave to feed their narrative about the liberal media hating Trump.

According to a second NexisUni search, the “just desserts” narrative did not gain any additional traction the following two days. On Oct. 5 (the day Trump returned to the White House from the hospital) and Oct. 6, the keywords of “karma” and “deserved” showed slight increases (from 114 to 137 and from 114 to 137 respectively) while the term “inevitable” (265 to 199) had a decreased number of hits. The keyword “ironic” stayed about the same (65 to 68).

Statistically, the press took it easy on Trump on Oct. 3-4 when it came to his perceived lack of personal responsibility, and what some see as his cavalier attitude when it comes to exposing others to his infection. On these two full days, the search of 10,000+ Trump and Covid news stories showed a modest number of hits for the keywords “reckless” (267) and “irresponsible” (280—just 2.8% of the 10,000 stories).

However, on Oct. 5-6, the press attacks on Trump’s personal responsibility escalated. A NexisUni search found 10,000+ Trump and Covid stories on these dates. Of these, 858 used the term “reckless,” while another 579 used the word “irresponsible.” Both totals were more than double the preceding two days, perhaps indicating that the press felt increasingly comfortable justifiably attacking Trump as he recovered and his prognosis improved.

One interesting aside: Whether a deliberate poke in the eye or not, the press liberally used a term Trump hates, “obese.” From Oct. 3-6, “obese” appeared in 1296 of 10,000 Trump and Covid stories—about 13%.

In summary, despite what one might hear from conservative outlets, there was almost no celebration in the news media when Trump contracted the virus. Instead, between Oct. 3-6, in 10,000+ articles, the media offered “prayers” (1364 hits) and hopes for a “speedy recovery” (1602). Once Trump was back in the White House, attacks against his irresponsible behavior did escalate, justifiably so, since his behavior calls into question his judgment and commitment to protecting others.