Trump Questions Platner Accuser: ‘A Lot of People Say Big Falsehoods’ 10%

By Kathryn Wilkens41%

7/8/2026, 5:52:45 PM

BS Summary: This article contains 13 faulty reasoning types, including Pessimism Bias, Unattributed Quote, and Quote-first Misdirection, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 11.2% saturation with 40 hits. Analysis detected 255 faulty-reasoning hits from 358 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 27% and a BS Rank of 10% (19,728 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 90.10% of the article peer group.

President Donald Trump questioned multiple women who have accused former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner of sexual misconduct on Wednesday, telling reporters aboard Air Force One, “A lot of people say big falsehoods.” 
Just minutes after the president’s comments, the former Democratic Senate contender dropped out of the race against incumbent Sen. 
Susan Collins (R-ME) in a video posted to X. 
Platner’s campaign had been unraveling in recent weeks following a series of abuse allegations. 
While prominent Democrats, including Sens. 
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (D-VT), initially stood by him after former girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield accused him of physical abuse  allegations he denied  support evaporated after a POLITICO report in which another ex-girlfriend, Jenny Racicot , accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2021. 
Platner denied Racicot’s allegations as “troubling, serious, and false,” but Sanders and other Democrats soon called on him to end his campaign. 
“Do you think that the Democrats should be able to pick a replacement for Graham Platner?” 
a journalist asked Trump on Wednesday. 
“They’re picking what?” 
responded the president. 
“A replacement for Graham Platner if he steps out of the race,” the reporter clarified. 
“He won the primary, right? 
It’s very hard for them to do,” Trump said of inserting a potential replacement. 
“It’s really a question of whether or not you believe the woman. 
A lot of people say big falsehoods. 
It’s, uh  he’s in a bind. 
He’s in a bind.” 
The president continued, “But, uh, should they be able to do it? 
Well, I guess he’s gonna lose. 
I would imagine he’s gonna lose. 
It’s very interesting. 
When a Republican woman came out with the same charge, nobody believed her. 
When this woman came out, everybody believed her. 
Right, Doug? 
Did you get any pictures of it, Doug? 
You don’t want ’em. 
They wouldn’t sell, Doug.” 
Here, it seems Trump was referring to New York Times photographer Doug Mills . 
Watch the clip above via @WhiteHouse on YouTube. 
The post Trump Questions Platner Accuser: ‘A Lot of People Say Big Falsehoods’ first appeared on Mediaite . 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 3.4%Kathryn Wilkens: 4.2%Mediaite: 5.0%Confirmation Bias3.4%This article: 1.4%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.8%Mediaite: 0.9%Anchoring Bias1.4%This article: 7.8%Kathryn Wilkens: 4.7%Mediaite: 3.8%Availability Heuristic7.8%This article: 1.1%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.9%Mediaite: 1.0%Representativeness Heuristic1.1%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.2%Mediaite: 0.7%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 3.3%Mediaite: 2.1%Overconfidence Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 8.9%Mediaite: 9.1%Framing Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.4%Mediaite: 0.4%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 1.0%Mediaite: 0.4%Status Quo Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.1%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.3%Mediaite: 1.2%Optimism Bias0.0%This article: 10.3%Kathryn Wilkens: 2.9%Mediaite: 1.6%Pessimism Bias10.3%This article: 11.2%Kathryn Wilkens: 11.8%Mediaite: 14.7%Negativity Bias11.2%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.9%Mediaite: 1.6%Self-Serving Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 1.2%Mediaite: 1.7%Fundamental Attribution Error0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.3%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 1.6%Mediaite: 2.1%In-Group Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 1.8%Mediaite: 2.0%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.1%Mediaite: 1.3%Halo Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.4%Mediaite: 0.7%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.1%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 1.8%Mediaite: 2.3%Recency Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 1.4%Mediaite: 0.6%Primacy Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.2%Mediaite: 0.1%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.5%Mediaite: 3.8%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.1%Mediaite: 1.2%Straw Man0.0%This article: 0.6%Kathryn Wilkens: 5.2%Mediaite: 3.5%Appeal to Authority0.6%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 2.2%Mediaite: 2.4%False Dilemma0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.6%Mediaite: 1.3%Slippery Slope0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.3%Mediaite: 0.3%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 7.8%Kathryn Wilkens: 9.5%Mediaite: 7.6%Hasty Generalization7.8%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.6%Mediaite: 0.4%Red Herring0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.3%Mediaite: 0.9%Bandwagon0.0%This article: 1.1%Kathryn Wilkens: 5.3%Mediaite: 6.6%Appeal to Emotion1.1%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 1.3%Mediaite: 1.6%Begging the Question0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 2.3%Mediaite: 2.9%Post Hoc (False Cause)0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.1%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.9%Mediaite: 1.2%Burden of Proof0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.3%Mediaite: 0.1%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.3%Mediaite: 0.3%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 5.9%Kathryn Wilkens: 2.0%Mediaite: 3.0%Anecdotal5.9%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.1%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 3.0%Mediaite: 2.8%Ambiguity (Equivocation)0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.5%Mediaite: 0.3%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.1%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.6%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 9.2%Kathryn Wilkens: 4.2%Mediaite: 3.3%Unattributed Quote9.2%This article: 9.2%Kathryn Wilkens: 4.5%Mediaite: 3.2%Quote-first Misdirection9.2%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 3.5%Mediaite: 8.3%Biased Writer Voice0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 1.6%Mediaite: 1.6%Indoctrination0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.9%Mediaite: 2.0%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.2%Mediaite: 1.1%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 2.2%Kathryn Wilkens: 0.6%Mediaite: 1.4%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…2.2%

358 words analyzed.

Speakers

2speakers48%attributed speech186writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 11 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 33 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 19 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 9 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 14 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 5 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 47 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 22 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 16 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 6 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 3 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 3 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 15 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 5 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 14 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 12 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 7 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 7 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 4 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 12 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 6 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 6 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 3 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 13 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 8 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 2 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 8 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 4 words • 0.0% coveragePresident Donald Trump • 4 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 14 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 8 words • 100.0% coverageMediaite • 18 words • 0.0% coverage
81%flagged-word coverage
154 attributed words90% of attributed speech24% writer coverage
0%12.5%25.0%Unattributed Quote+21.4 ptsWriter: 0.0%President Donald Trump: 21.4%21.4%Quote-first Misdirection+21.4 ptsWriter: 0.0%President Donald Trump: 21.4%21.4%Attempt to Sell a Product -4.3 ptsWriter: 4.3%President Donald Trump: 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.