Mediaite⁠70%

The Atlantic Republishes JD Vance’s 2016 Essay Destroying Trump: ‘He Cannot Fix What Ails’ Americans ⁠59%

By Joe DePaolo⁠56%

7/5/2026, 1:25:34 AM

BS Summary: This article contains 24 faulty reasoning types, including Framing Effect, Biased Writer Voice, and Availability Heuristic, with Appeal to Emotion as the most egregious example at 26% saturation with 106 hits. Analysis detected 798 faulty-reasoning hits from 407 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 55.5% and a BS Rank of ⁠59% (9,013 of 21,887 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 58.80% of the article peer group.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) The Atlantic published a piece, Saturday, which was highly critical of President Donald Trump — which may not seem all that surprising... until you notice the byline. 
The essay — titled "Opioid of the Masses" — was written by none other than Vice President JD Vance. 
The VP wrote the column in 2016, and The Atlantic republished it Saturday — 10 years to the day after it first ran. 
In the piece, Vance argued that Trump is effectively a "pain reliever" offering a "quick escape." 
"During this election season, it appears that many Americans have reached for a new pain reliever," Vance wrote. 
"It too, promises a quick escape from life’s cares, an easy solution to the mounting social problems of U.S. communities and culture. 
It demands nothing and requires little more than a modest presence and maybe a few enablers. 
It enters minds, not through lungs or veins, but through eyes and ears, and its name is Donald Trump." 
The now-vice president argued back then that Trump cannot deliver on his promises. 
"What Trump offers is an easy escape from the pain," Vance wrote. 
"To every complex problem, he promises a simple solution. 
He can bring jobs back simply by punishing offshoring companies into submission. 
As he told a New Hampshire crowd—folks all too familiar with the opioid scourge—he can cure the addiction epidemic by building a Mexican wall and keeping the cartels out. 
He will spare the United States from humiliation and military defeat with indiscriminate bombing. 
It doesn’t matter that no credible military leader has endorsed his plan. 
He never offers details for how these plans will work, because he can’t. 
Trump’s promises are the needle in America’s collective vein." 
He added: "Trump is cultural heroin. 
He makes some feel better for a bit. 
But he cannot fix what ails them, and one day they’ll realize it." 
As of this writing, the essay is the most-read article on The Atlantic's website. 
The second-most read piece was a new companion essay by Peter Wehner titled "What JD Vance Once Knew." 
"Ten years ago, the vice president wrote that one day, voters would realize the truth about Donald Trump," the article's subhead read. 
"That day has now arrived." 
And Vance's original piece quickly spread across social media: https://x.com/AdamKinzinger/status/2073511120887832920? 
s20 https://x.com/NickWilliams33/status/2073584999530455515? 
s20 https://x.com/KBAndersen/status/2073607777675620361? 
s20 https://x.com/ShawnFetta/status/2073484655735525604? 
s20 https://x.com/euanrellie/status/2073435952630861889? 
s20 —— 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 2.9%Joe DePaolo: 3.9%Mediaite: 5.0%Confirmation Bias2.9%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.1%Mediaite: 0.9%Anchoring Bias0.0%This article: 12.3%Joe DePaolo: 2.9%Mediaite: 3.8%Availability Heuristic12.3%This article: 4.7%Joe DePaolo: 1.0%Mediaite: 1.0%Representativeness Heuristic4.7%This article: 9.8%Joe DePaolo: 1.2%Mediaite: 0.7%Hindsight Bias9.8%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 1.4%Mediaite: 2.1%Overconfidence Bias0.0%This article: 19.4%Joe DePaolo: 13.2%Mediaite: 9.1%Framing Effect19.4%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.4%Mediaite: 0.4%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.1%Mediaite: 0.4%Status Quo Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.1%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.9%Mediaite: 1.2%Optimism Bias0.0%This article: 6.1%Joe DePaolo: 2.1%Mediaite: 1.6%Pessimism Bias6.1%This article: 12.0%Joe DePaolo: 13.7%Mediaite: 14.7%Negativity Bias12.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.4%Mediaite: 1.6%Self-Serving Bias0.0%This article: 7.9%Joe DePaolo: 1.9%Mediaite: 1.7%Fundamental Attribution Error7.9%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.3%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 7.1%Joe DePaolo: 1.6%Mediaite: 2.1%In-Group Bias7.1%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 1.0%Mediaite: 2.0%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 3.4%Mediaite: 1.3%Halo Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 1.0%Mediaite: 0.7%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.2%Mediaite: 0.1%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 10.1%Joe DePaolo: 0.6%Mediaite: 2.3%Recency Bias10.1%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.8%Mediaite: 0.6%Primacy Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.1%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 3.5%Mediaite: 3.8%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 1.3%Mediaite: 1.2%Straw Man0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 1.8%Mediaite: 3.5%Appeal to Authority0.0%This article: 2.2%Joe DePaolo: 1.3%Mediaite: 2.4%False Dilemma2.2%This article: 3.4%Joe DePaolo: 0.3%Mediaite: 1.3%Slippery Slope3.4%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.5%Mediaite: 0.3%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 8.4%Joe DePaolo: 5.8%Mediaite: 7.6%Hasty Generalization8.4%This article: 2.5%Joe DePaolo: 0.3%Mediaite: 0.4%Red Herring2.5%This article: 10.3%Joe DePaolo: 2.2%Mediaite: 0.9%Bandwagon10.3%This article: 26.0%Joe DePaolo: 10.0%Mediaite: 6.6%Appeal to Emotion26.0%This article: 9.8%Joe DePaolo: 1.7%Mediaite: 1.6%Begging the Question9.8%This article: 7.1%Joe DePaolo: 2.1%Mediaite: 2.9%Post Hoc (False Cause)7.1%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.1%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 2.9%Joe DePaolo: 1.9%Mediaite: 1.2%Burden of Proof2.9%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.1%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.3%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 2.0%Joe DePaolo: 2.0%Mediaite: 3.0%Anecdotal2.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.1%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 2.0%Mediaite: 2.8%Ambiguity (Equivocation)0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.1%Mediaite: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.3%Mediaite: 0.3%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.2%Mediaite: 0.1%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.5%Mediaite: 0.6%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 5.4%Joe DePaolo: 3.2%Mediaite: 3.3%Unattributed Quote5.4%This article: 7.4%Joe DePaolo: 2.2%Mediaite: 3.2%Quote-first Misdirection7.4%This article: 13.8%Joe DePaolo: 6.4%Mediaite: 8.3%Biased Writer Voice13.8%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 1.1%Mediaite: 1.6%Indoctrination0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 1.6%Mediaite: 2.0%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Joe DePaolo: 0.2%Mediaite: 1.1%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 2.5%Joe DePaolo: 2.0%Mediaite: 1.4%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…2.5%

407 words analyzed.

Speakers

1speaker59%attributed speech166writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 15 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 30 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 19 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 23 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 16 words • 100.0% coverageJD Vance • 18 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 22 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 16 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 19 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 13 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 12 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 9 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 12 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 29 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 14 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 12 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 13 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 9 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 6 words • 100.0% coverageJD Vance • 8 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 13 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 14 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 18 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 22 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 5 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 10 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 2 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 2 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 2 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 2 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 2 words • 0.0% coverage
Selected voice

JD Vance

95%flagged-word coverage
241 attributed words100% of attributed speech94% writer coverage
0%17.5%35.0%Biased Writer Voice-33.7 ptsWriter: 33.7%JD Vance: 0.0%0.0%Quote-first Misdirection-18.1 ptsWriter: 18.1%JD Vance: 0.0%0.0%Unattributed Quote+9.1 ptsWriter: 0.0%JD Vance: 9.1%9.1%Attempt to Sell a Product -6.0 ptsWriter: 6.0%JD Vance: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.