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NYT columnist thrashed online for suggesting Trump is to blame for alleged Cornell gang rape

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D'Abrosca, P. (2026, October 6). NYT columnist thrashed online for suggesting Trump is to blame for alleged Cornell gang rape. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nyt-columnist-thrashed-online-suggesting-trump-blame-alleged-cornell-gang-rape

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Fox News · collected 2026-10-06 · by Peter D'Abrosca

Quick Summary

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 by AI on 2026-10-06, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

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 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Blame For Rape Controversy
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 24 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different aspects of the Cornell University sex assault case: one focuses on Trump's comments about the investigation, and the other discusses a columnist's reaction to the alleged assault.”
Washington Examiner
Hedges 2 of 12 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles discuss different perspectives on the same alleged incident but are not reporting the exact same occurrence or time frame.”
Washington Examiner
Hedges 2 of 25 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the Cornell rape case and feature separate public statements by different individuals.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 4 of 28 claims Outlet record 61/100
“Article A covers the Cornell president's call for stronger sexual assault laws following an alleged gang rape at Cornell, while Article B discusses criticism of a New York Times columnist who linked Trump to the culture leading up to that alleged incident.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 3 of 20 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A discusses a columnist's comments about the alleged rape incident and its cultural context, while Article B focuses on text messages exchanged between Jane Doe and one of her accusers following the alleged assault.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 4 of 53 claims Outlet record 70/100
“While both articles discuss the same alleged gang rape at Cornell University and its political ramifications, they describe different aspects of the ongoing debate rather than a single specific incident.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 12 of 78 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the Cornell University sexual assault case: one focuses on the wave of anger and solidarity it has sparked, while the other discusses a columnist's suggestion linking the incident to broader cultural issues under President Trump.”
Times of India
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 14 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles discuss related topics but describe different aspects of the incident: one focuses on the victim's privacy and legal proceedings, while the other addresses public commentary about political responsibility.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 3 of 46 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss related topics but describe different aspects: Article A focuses on a lawsuit and criticism of Cornell University's response, while Article B discusses reactions to an NYT columnist blaming Trump for the cultural context leading to the alleged assault.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-06 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6363 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Peter D'Abrosca
37 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
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Also by Peter D'Abrosca
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 37 articles by Peter D'Abrosca →

Topics

ABC News CNN Cornell University Fox News The New York Times

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 6× Letitia James PERSON · 3× Biden PERSON · 2× Cornell University ORG · 2× Cottle PERSON · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 2× The New York Times ORG · 2× ABC News ORG · 1× Jane Doe PERSON · 1× Michelle Cottle PERSON · 1×

Narrative

"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.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-06

Claims (22 extracted, 1 hedged)

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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