Opinion Writers Disagree on Who Gained Most From Tuesday's Midterm Election
Fox News and The Hill published opinion pieces naming different winners of Tuesday's midterm election, one focused on American voters and the other on Iran.
Two opinion pieces published after Tuesday's midterm election offered different answers to the question of who gained the most, one focusing on American voters and the other on a foreign government. Both are commentary by their authors, and neither summary reports official vote totals or the final outcome of any contest.
Fox News published a column by Lee Carter under a headline stating that the "biggest winner" of the election is not who readers might expect. According to the summary of Carter's column on Fox News, the election showed that persuasion still works in American democracy, and that voters are not permanently locked into political teams or tribal loyalties.
The Hill published a piece by Jonathan Sweet and Mark Toth, opinion contributors, titled Iran is the biggest winner of Tuesday's election. According to the summary of the Sweet and Toth column in The Hill, the authors argue that Iran is the winner, or at least that Tehran will likely conclude as much.
The Hill's summary cites a 25-page letter from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson, Gen. Hossein Mohebbi, addressed to the "Honorable People of the United States of America." The summary says the letter encouraged Americans to vote against President Trump ahead of the midterm elections. The summary is cut off before stating the letter's full aim, so the complete text of that stated purpose is not available in the source.
The two pieces differ in emphasis. Carter's column concerns how voters respond to persuasion, while the Sweet and Toth column concerns foreign policy and an Iranian government message. The summaries do not say whether the letter influenced any voter, and the claims in both pieces are the views of their authors.
Sources: Fox News: LEE CARTER: The biggest winner of this election is not who you think; The Hill: Iran is the biggest winner of Tuesday’s election.