MS NOW⁠95%

Trump tried to stage a celebration. America found someone else to cheer for. ⁠87%

By Michael Steele⁠0%

6/20/2026, 10:00:00 AM

BS Summary: This article contains 30 faulty reasoning types, including Biased Writer Voice, Hasty Generalization, and Fundamental Attribution Error, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 55.9% saturation with 309 hits. Analysis detected 1,558 faulty-reasoning hits from 553 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 80% and a BS Rank of ⁠87% (2,751 of 21,171 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 87.00% of the article peer group.

After winning a cage match in front of the White House on Sunday, UFC fighter Josh Hokit paused his postfight interview to take a vulgar swipe at former first lady Michelle Obama. 
In the days that followed, Obama began trending across social media — not because of the insult, but because Americans responded by celebrating her, sharing elegant portraits, highlighting her accomplishments and praising the grace and dignity she brought to public life. 
It is a familiar pattern in the Trump era. 
First comes the clumsy effort to glorify the president and demean his perceived opponents. 
Then comes the public reaction that elevates the very people and values he is trying to diminish. 
Trump reminded Americans of everything they appreciated about the Obamas. 
President Donald Trump wanted Americans to celebrate his birthday with a big UFC fight. 
Instead, he reminded Americans of everything they appreciated about the Obamas. 
He wanted to be greeted as a native son at a Knicks game in Madison Square Garden. 
Instead, New Yorkers booed when his face flashed on the jumbotron, and fans literally burned sage to spiritually cleanse the arena after he left. 
He wanted the nation to honor him during the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. 
Instead, he saw headlines dominated by canceled performances and announcements of rival events, including a star-studded concert at the Obama presidential library. 
Trump wants love, but he doesn’t know how to win it. 
He wants respect, but he doesn’t know how to earn it. 
He wants to be feared, but he doesn’t know how to inspire it. 
Frustrated, he turns to forced displays of loyalty and empty threats. 
And Americans respond with ridicule or something he may find worse: indifference. 
Trump demanded a Nobel Peace Prize and happily settled for a made-up one from FIFA. 
No one cared. 
But fans poured into the streets to celebrate when the Knicks won the NBA championship, because the team earned it by pushing past years of disappointment and working hard. 
The president has spent most of his political career demeaning immigrants and putting down other countries. 
But soccer fans from around the world are celebrating World Cup wins with one another as immigrant communities around the U.S. are glued to their TVs. 
Sports is the great leveler. 
It’s not just about the skills and athleticism, it’s about strangers in the stands sharing a history and having faith in the players’ ability to show what hard work and dedication can produce. 
It’s part of the American story. 
Sports do not know class or race. 
When a team wins, it’s a celebration of community and shared purpose. 
Trump doesn’t understand that because he doesn’t know what it’s like to belong. 
He can’t imagine being part of a group without being in charge and making it afraid of him. 
He doesn’t know how to play a game that isn’t rigged in his favor, or how to lose gracefully and shake hands. 
So perhaps it’s not surprising that his big UFC cage match ended not with an outpouring of excitement from fans, but with a crude insult. 
For more thought-provoking insights from Michael Steele, Alicia Menendez and Symone Sanders Townsend, watch “The Weeknight” every Monday-Friday at 7 p.m. 
ET on MS NOW. 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 10.5%Michael Steele: 7.6%MS NOW: 7.5%Confirmation Bias10.5%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 1.1%MS NOW: 1.2%Anchoring Bias0.0%This article: 10.3%Michael Steele: 2.0%MS NOW: 3.7%Availability Heuristic10.3%This article: 8.7%Michael Steele: 1.1%MS NOW: 1.1%Representativeness Heuristic8.7%This article: 6.3%Michael Steele: 0.9%MS NOW: 1.3%Hindsight Bias6.3%This article: 5.1%Michael Steele: 4.0%MS NOW: 2.6%Overconfidence Bias5.1%This article: 3.8%Michael Steele: 7.2%MS NOW: 15.5%Framing Effect3.8%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.3%MS NOW: 0.7%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.1%MS NOW: 0.9%Status Quo Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.2%MS NOW: 0.1%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 4.3%Michael Steele: 1.2%MS NOW: 2.4%Optimism Bias4.3%This article: 8.0%Michael Steele: 1.7%MS NOW: 3.2%Pessimism Bias8.0%This article: 55.9%Michael Steele: 10.9%MS NOW: 19.3%Negativity Bias55.9%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.6%MS NOW: 2.4%Self-Serving Bias0.0%This article: 19.7%Michael Steele: 6.5%MS NOW: 3.1%Fundamental Attribution Error19.7%This article: 2.0%Michael Steele: 0.4%MS NOW: 0.3%Actor-Observer Bias2.0%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 1.5%MS NOW: 3.5%In-Group Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 2.7%MS NOW: 2.6%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 1.4%MS NOW: 2.2%Halo Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 1.5%MS NOW: 1.8%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.0%MS NOW: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.7%MS NOW: 1.8%Recency Bias0.0%This article: 1.6%Michael Steele: 0.3%MS NOW: 0.6%Primacy Effect1.6%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.0%MS NOW: 0.2%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 14.6%Michael Steele: 9.7%MS NOW: 4.7%Ad Hominem14.6%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 4.4%MS NOW: 1.3%Straw Man0.0%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 2.5%MS NOW: 5.4%Appeal to Authority0.0%This article: 4.5%Michael Steele: 4.4%MS NOW: 2.2%False Dilemma4.5%This article: 2.0%Michael Steele: 2.3%MS NOW: 2.2%Slippery Slope2.0%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.0%MS NOW: 0.2%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 21.5%Michael Steele: 15.8%MS NOW: 8.1%Hasty Generalization21.5%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.4%MS NOW: 0.7%Red Herring0.0%This article: 6.0%Michael Steele: 1.0%MS NOW: 0.9%Bandwagon6.0%This article: 14.6%Michael Steele: 4.4%MS NOW: 9.8%Appeal to Emotion14.6%This article: 3.1%Michael Steele: 4.1%MS NOW: 2.4%Begging the Question3.1%This article: 9.2%Michael Steele: 1.2%MS NOW: 3.2%Post Hoc (False Cause)9.2%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.2%MS NOW: 0.6%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 2.9%Michael Steele: 0.2%MS NOW: 0.9%Burden of Proof2.9%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.0%MS NOW: 0.1%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 2.0%Michael Steele: 1.2%MS NOW: 0.3%Composition/Division2.0%This article: 4.3%Michael Steele: 0.5%MS NOW: 2.6%Anecdotal4.3%This article: 1.3%Michael Steele: 0.1%MS NOW: 0.2%No True Scotsman1.3%This article: 4.3%Michael Steele: 0.7%MS NOW: 1.7%Ambiguity (Equivocation)4.3%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.0%MS NOW: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.0%MS NOW: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.0%MS NOW: 0.3%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.0%MS NOW: 0.3%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.7%MS NOW: 1.3%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 2.7%Michael Steele: 1.5%MS NOW: 2.5%Unattributed Quote2.7%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.1%MS NOW: 1.5%Quote-first Misdirection0.0%This article: 29.7%Michael Steele: 31.7%MS NOW: 14.2%Biased Writer Voice29.7%This article: 4.2%Michael Steele: 3.3%MS NOW: 2.1%Indoctrination4.2%This article: 14.1%Michael Steele: 14.1%MS NOW: 5.3%Politically Left Leaning Bias14.1%This article: 0.0%Michael Steele: 0.3%MS NOW: 0.6%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 4.5%Michael Steele: 1.3%MS NOW: 0.4%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…4.5%

553 words analyzed.

Speakers

No attributed speakers were identified in this analysis.

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Analysis

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