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Michelle Cottle, a columnist for The New York Times, suggested on ABC News that President Donald Trump’s rhetoric has contributed to a cultural environment where an alleged gang rape at Cornell University in 2024 occurred. This comment sparked significant backlash online, with critics pointing out that the incident happened during Joe Biden's presidency and accusing Cottle of politicizing the issue. Comments from various commentators and former officials highlighted their disagreement with Cottle’s perspective, emphasizing the political nature of her argument.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A New York Times columnist, Michelle Cottle, faced backlash online for suggesting that President Donald Trump is responsible for creating a culture that led to an alleged sexual assault at Cornell University in 2024. Cottle made her comments on ABC News, arguing that the incident reflects a broader disrespect towards women and ties it back to cultural glorification of mistreating women, which she attributes to Trump's presidency. The lawsuit involves a woman known as Jane Doe who alleges she was gang-raped by seven men during a drug- and alcohol-fueled event at Cornell University in 2024, while Joe Biden was the president. The alleged perpetrators have denied any wrongdoing or claim that the incident was consensual, but no criminal charges have been filed yet.
Written for “Trump Blame For Rape Controversy” on 2026-10-06,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but all 2 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 60136: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-06
The New York Times is under fire after one of its columnists suggested that President Donald Trump is responsible for creating the culture that led to an alleged sexual assault against a woman at Cornell University by seven men.
uncertain
that → suggest → men
"What this is, is it's a fundamental disrespect for women," columnist Michelle Cottle said on ABC News on Sunday.
asserted
Cottle → say → Sunday
"You can't send those messages no matter how drunk you are as a frat boy without having some kind of misunderstanding about what women are there for and whether this is a real person you're dealing with.
asserted
you → send → what
"And that, I think, starts, you know — we can go to the president for this one," Cottle went on.
asserted
Cottle → think → one
"I mean, we are in a moment in this culture where the glorification of being thuggish and swaggering and mistreating women is kind of making you a cool kid."
asserted
you → mean → women
A woman identified as Jane Doe in court records has filed a civil lawsuit against seven men she alleges gang-raped her during a ketamine- and alcohol-induced incident at Cornell University in 2024.
asserted
she → identify → 2024
Former President Joe Biden occupied the White House at that time.
asserted
Biden → occupy → time
The men have denied wrongdoing, with some saying the sex was consensual, and others saying they didn't participate.
asserted
they → deny → wrongdoing
No charges have been filed.
asserted
charges → file → ?
The backlash to Cottle's comments was fierce, especially among those pointing out that the incident happened when Biden was president, including Fox News contributor Joe Concha.
asserted
Biden → point → Concha
"This happened in 2024 when Biden was President. Did she not know that?" another X user asked.
asserted
user → happen → that
"Latest edition of 'Trump turned me into a newt!' brought to you by a very very smart person," said CNN contributor Scott Jennings.
asserted
Jennings → turn → person
"Media and pundits fall all over themselves trying to make everything and anything about Donald Trump.
asserted
Media → fall → Trump
It’s embarrassing and so incredibly lazy," former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
asserted
McLaughlin → ’ → Security
"This take is SO far beyond delusional that you can’t even see sanity from here…" said conservative commentator John Ziegler.
asserted
Ziegler → see → sanity
"Of course, it's Trump's fault," the Media Research Center, who first posted the clip, said.
asserted
who → post → clip
Trump has commented on the case, which is now being investigated by longtime foe New York Attorney General Letitia James, who in 2022 filed a civil fraud lawsuit against him.
asserted
who → comment → him
Trump in 2024 was found liable for fraud and ordered to pay more than $350 million, but the penalty was overturned on appeal.
asserted
penalty → find → appeal
Asked about James being appointed to investigate the alleged gang rape, Trump launched into an attack on the state attorney general.
asserted
Trump → ask → general
"Well, Letitia James is a corrupt person," Trump said.
asserted
Trump → say → ?
"She's totally corrupt, and I can't imagine it — I feel badly for whoever she's looking at because they won't get a fair shake.
asserted
they → imagine → shake
Fox News Digital reached out to The New York Times and the White House for comment.
asserted
Digital → reach → comment
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