Trump raises stakes ahead of Tennessee special election: 'The world is watching'
Van Epps is the Republican candidate at whose rally Trump urged supporters to deliver a sweeping victory.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates Yahoo News, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
The reporting appears to be The Hill material republished by Yahoo, with a named author and identifiable publisher. The short report attributes political claims to their speakers, though it offers limited independent verification.
- Source type — The Hill is an established national political news outlet; Yahoo is the host of the republished article.
- Author attribution — A named author is provided.
- Transparency — The Nexstar copyright notice and The Hill reference help identify the reporting source.
- Editorial standards — Claims are attributed to Trump and a DNC official, with some context for the remarks about Behn.
The report includes direct quotations from Trump, a DNC official and Behn, and gives context for the attack. It is a short campaign story that relies heavily on partisan remarks and does not independently assess several of Trump's claims.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article includes remarks from both sides and context for the criticism of Behn, but it offers little independent checking of claims made during the campaign.
- Source diversity — Trump, a DNC official and Behn are represented, although the candidates do not each offer extended direct comment.
- Counterarguments presented — The article includes Behn's response to the older comments Trump cites.
- Omitted context — Several political accusations are reported without independent verification in the short article.
The report uses neutral language and attributes the competing campaign claims to their speakers. It provides some context for Trump's criticism and includes Behn's response to her earlier comments.
- Language tone — The narration is largely straightforward and attributes evaluative statements to their speakers.
- Source selection — The story includes Trump's remarks, a DNC official's criticism and Behn's own response.
- Framing — The headline and opening focus on Trump's role in the race without adopting his claims.
Republished with credit
Republished from The Hill, with credit to the original publisher.
364 stories · 77.6–78.1 · updated Oct 13, 2026
This is The Hill's own score, and this article is credited to The Hill. The host score in the Source Check is Yahoo News's.
President Trump called into a rally for Tennessee Republican Matt Van Epps a day before the special election, urging a decisive win and attacking Democratic candidate Aftyn Behn. The race is for the seat vacated by former Rep. Mark Green.
Trump urged supporters at a rally for Van Epps to make the special election a “sweeping victory,” saying the world was watching. He praised Van Epps and criticized Behn, making claims about her views on Christianity, country music, transgender people and immigration. The article notes Trump was referring in part to comments Behn made on a podcast in 2020.
Van Epps is running against Behn to succeed Green, who resigned earlier in the year. The article says the district is considered solidly Republican, while Democrats were optimistic about outperforming expectations. A Democratic National Committee official said Republicans had spent millions trying to hold the seat; Behn addressed her earlier comments in a video the previous month.
Community verdict
VOTING CLOSEDNo good or bad look here
This story reports what happened without casting Van Epps in a good or bad light, so readers don’t rate it and it doesn’t count toward Van Epps’s record.
People in this story
SWIPE →President who called into the rally and criticized Behn
Trump's version of this story ↗Former representative whose resignation created the vacancy
Speaker of the House
Democratic candidate in the Tennessee special election
Part of a bigger story
7 OUTLETSOutlets agree that President Donald Trump urged Tennessee voters to support Republican Matt Van Epps before the special House election. Center outlets frame the race as competitive and politically consequential, with several including responses from Democrats or Behn. Right-leaning outlets center Trump's endorsement and turnout appeal, with some also foregrounding his attacks on Behn.
- ARTICLES
- 8
- OUTLETS
- 7
- AVG CRED
- 71
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