2018 The year of the "very stable genius"

Karl Van Meter

Description

What happened in 2018 ? What do you remember? Analyzing over 2,000 press reports each month can help answer that question. But even with the assistance of advanced computer programs, how do you summarize a whole year? How do you choose a succinct and meaningful title for this work? Donald Trump provided us with a clear and concice answer by declaring publicly that he was a "very stable genius". Indeed, 2018 was the year of the "very stable genius" and it's presented and analyzed here month by month, using both our computer method and our human analysis of the same set of data from a representative sampling system of international media. And Yes, the key word was "Trump".

Sujets

• Sociologie, société et politique
• Sociologie

Informations

• Publié par: L'Harmattan
• Date de parution: 31 mai 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9782140122842
• Langue: Français
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

2018 Karl M. van Meter
The Year of the
“Very Stable Genius”
What happened in 2018? What do you remember about 2018?
Analyzing over 2,000 press reports each month can help answer that
question. But even with the assistance of advanced computer programs,
how do you summarize a whole year with all that data? How do you
choose a succinct and meaningful title for this work? Donald Trump, in
his second year as President of the United States of America in 2018, 2018 provided us with a clear and concise answer to this last question by
declaring publicly on two separate occasions in 2018 that he was a “very
stable genius”. Yes indeed, 2018 was the year of the “very stable genius” The Year of the and it’s presented and analyzed here month by month, chapter by
chapter, using both our computer method of analysis by co-occurrence
of key words in press reports and by human expert analysis of the same
data set provided by a thoroughly representative sampling system of “Very Stable Genius”
the international media in English. Each chapter covers a month and
includes an overall strategic diagram with its specifc thematic clusters
of key words and associated typical or representative media reports
and word counts. And Yes, the key word “Trump” was at the top of World Media Analysis
each month’s word count, 12 out of 12. Quite a record which clearly
characterizes the year 2018.
Karl M. van Meter is an American-French citizen with four university
degrees from the US, the UK and France. As a mathematician and
research sociologist, he has published widely in French and in English.
He is the founding editor of the bilingual quarterly scientifc journal,
the Bulletin of Sociological Methodology / Bulletin de Méthodologie
Sociologique, or BMS, once published by L’Harmattan.
ISBN : 978-2-343-17632-1
26 €
2018 The Year of the “Very Stable Genius” Karl M. van Meter






2018
The Year of the “Very Stable Genius”
















































© L’Harmattan, 2019
5-7, rue de l’École-Polytechnique, 75005 Paris

www.editions-harmattan.fr

ISBN : 978-2-343-17632-1
EAN : 9782343176321

4 Karl M. van Meter






2018
The Year of the “Very Stable Genius”

World Media Analysis
























We would like to thank Denis, Armelle, Xavier and their entire team
at Harmattan without whom this would not have been possible.



In the same series with Editions de l’Harmattan

Karl M. van Meter and Mathilde de Saint Léger (2009) World Politics and
Parapolitics 2006 – Computer-assisted Text Analysis of International Media
Headlines.

Karl M. van Meter (2016) 2009-2012, Obama’s First Term, Bush’s Legacy,
Arab Spring and World Jihadism.

Karl M. van Meter (2016) 2013 Parapolitics and World Media.

Karl M. van Meter (2018) Obama Leads to Trump – 2015-2017 World Media
Analysis.


Research Articles and Reports

Mathilde de Saint Léger et Karl M. van Meter (2005) Cartographie du premier
congrès de l’ASF avec la méthode des mots associés, Bulletin of
Methodological Sociology / Bulletin de Méthodologie Sociologique, n. 85, pp.
44-67.

Karl M. van Meter et Mathilde de Saint Léger (2008) Co-Word Text Analysis
Applied to Political Science – 2006 International Political & « Parapolitical »
Headlines, Bulletin of Methodological Sociology / Bulletin de Méthodologie
Sociologique, n.97, pp. 18-38.

Karl M. van Meter and Mathilde de Saint Léger (2011) 2007-2008 – The End
of Bush & The Rise of the UN: Link Analysis of World Media Headlines,
USAK Yearbook of Politics and International Relations, n. 4, pp. 1-21.

Karl M. van Meter (2018) 2014 in the World Media – Co-occurrence of Key
Word Analysis, Etude et Documents, n. 15,
https://www.cmh.ens.fr/2004-in-the-Wordl-Media-Cp-1556.


6 TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER 2
“A VERY STABLE GENIUS” JANUARY 2018 ........................................ 15
CHAPTER 3
PARKLAND MASSACRE FEBRUARY 2018 ........................................... 33
CHAPTER 4
TRUMP’S “SMART” TARIFFS MARCH 2018 ......................................... 49
CHAPTER 5
KIM JONG UN ON THE WORLD STAGE APRIL 2018 .......................... 71
CHAPTER 6
SPOTLIGHT STILL ON NORTH KOREA MAY 2018 .............................. 95
CHAPTER 7
TRUMP SEPARATES FAMILIES AT THE BORDER JUNE 2018 ........ 113
CHAPTER 8
CAVE RESCUE & BORDER SEPARATIONS JULY 2018 .................... 135
CHAPTER 9
YEMEN CIVIL WAR & MANAFORT TRIAL AUGUST 2018 .............. 159
CHAPTER 10
KAVANAUGH NOMINATION DESTROYS SUPREME COURT
SEPTEMBER 2018 ..................................................................................... 175
CHAPTER 11
KHASHOGGI MURDER & HURRICANE MICHAEL
OCTOBER 2018 ......................................................................................... 191
CHAPTER 12
MIDTERM “BLUE” WAVE & MIGRANT CARAVAN
NOVEMBER 2018 ..................................................................................... 209
CHAPTER 13
TWO KIDS DIE AT THE BORDER DECEMBER 2018 .......................... 225
CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
To read and analyze some 24,000 press reports and then write a book
about them can be considered an arduous task. But then comes the
really hard part: choosing a short title that has a widely understandable
meaning and characterizes the whole work. That truly difficult task
usually come at the end when most of the work has been done. That was
not the case with this book. The chapter on January 2018 was the first
one we wrote and we soon came across 7 2018 press reports
quoting US President Donald Trump telling the world “I’m a very
stable genius”: 7 Jan - Trump’s ‘very stable genius’ tweet shows he
isn’t /CNN; 7 Jan - Trump, Defending His Mental Fitness, Says He’s a
‘Very Stable Genius’ /NYT - President Trump this week at the White
House - Mr. Trump, seeming to respond to revelations in a new book,
issued an extraordinary defense of his fitness for office.
Yes, we had found the title for this book: 2018 - The Year of the
“Very Stable Genius” - World Media Analysis!
Some friends who follow the world press a little bit less than us
commented that the title could be considered cynical or sarcastic and
disrespectful of President Trump, since we can all make slip ups. But
Trump himself fixed that in July, following his visit to the NATO
summit meeting: 13 Jul - “I’m a very stable genius” - Trump shocks the
world with bizarre NATO summit appearance /Salon - Trump
continues to threaten US allies and the NATO treaty - Trump reasserts
his “very stable genius” claims following NATO summit - At a press
conference on Thursday, President Trump described the NATO summit
as a success and again referred to himself as a “very stable genius.”
Even before the second “Very Stable Genius” declaration and just
after the initial declaration, the term kept coming back, even from as far
away as London:
• 10 Jan - Trump, the “Very Stable Genius,” Is Falling Apart as
Mueller Seeks Interview - New revelations raise the question - Is
he a crook, or is he nuts /AlterNet
• 10 Jan - Democratic congressman introduces “Stable Genius Act”
/CBS - Democratic Pennsylvania Rep. Brendan Boyle is
unveiling a bill called the “Stable Genius Act” that would require
all presidential candidates to undergo a medical exam and
publicly disclose the results before the election. The Stable
Genius Act is an acronym for the “Standardizing Testing and
Accountability Before Large Elections Giving Electors
Necessary Information for Unobstructed Selection Act”.
• 13 Jan - UK - Far-Right Trump Supporters Try to Arrest London
Mayor /Daily Beast - A speech by Sadiq Khan was disrupted by
protesters calling for his arrest - Sadiq Khan speech interrupted
by protesters - London mayor mocks Trump “stable genius”
comment after right-wing protestors disrupt speech - Sadiq Khan
speech disrupted by Brexit and Trump supporters
• 27 Jan - With the Mueller Bombshell, the GOP’s Grand
Conspi