[6] Her stint in Cambodia was cut short due to falling ill and having to return to the United States for medical treatment.

In 2019, Ball received the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency for her coverage of the Trump administration.

[9] In 2015, James Taranto of The Wall Street Journal criticized Ball's treatment of a Trump supporter in an article Ball wrote for The Atlantic titled, "The Ecstasy of Donald Trump",[10] observing that she described the supporter with "a leathery complexion and yellow teeth", which Taranto argued was an instance of media bias and disrespect towards ordinary citizens.

While Ball characterized this as protecting election integrity, critics questioned her journalistic ethics and objectivity.

[20] Additionally, Ball was required to erase and destroy all copies of the photographs she had taken without the subjects' knowledge and consent during her visit to their private quarters.