Fiorina’s performance shakes up race as Trump suffers for anti-Muslim campaign moment

U.S. TV & print news, September 16 - 20, 2015

New York, September 22, 2015. After the Republican candidate debate on CNN, Carly Fiorina has gained momentum, challenging Donald Trump for the lead. Despite this, Jeb Bush is the only candidate strongly visible in the media who has managed to push many key issues onto the news agenda, according to new research from Media Tenor International.

“The second debate suggests a major shakeup is coming in the Republican field,” says Racheline Maltese a researcher at Media Tenor. “Media described Donald Trump’s performance as weak in specifics on key issues. Subsequent anti-Muslim questions at a campaign event have also hurt his image, highlighting the importance of the anti-refugee and migrant climate in the U.S. election. Meanwhile, Carly Fiorina has gained momentum with a widely praised performance although some risks are visible.”

Media Tenor also found that Ben Carson has lost media momentum on his debate performance, with the vaccination issue contributing to negativity.  Jeb Bush had a negative image overall, but tone was far better than Trump and did involve praise from Fox News.  Bush has also been the most successful at addressing issues, including those Americans have identified as their most important concerns according to the latest Gallup poll. Bush has not yet achieved media traction for this approach, however.

This research examined all 785 reports on political figures (out of 2,067) on four U.S. TV news programs and in eight opinion-leading print publications.

For over 20 years Media Tenor’s mission has been to contribute to objective, diverse and newsworthy media content by bringing together the diverse parties. Media Tenor’s global research projects include analyses of election campaigns, investor relations, public diplomacy, corporate communications and other topics critical to news makers and news audiences.

For more information, please contact Racheline Maltese at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or +1 212-935-0210.