Some on the Left Are Hitting Back at The NYT Over a Headline About Trump
2020 Democratic candidates and others on the left called out The New York Times over a headline that they alleged was both inaccurate and not tough enough on President Donald Trump.
The original headline for Tuesday’s NYT paper read, “Trump Urges Unity vs. Racism,” and the sub-headline read, “A National Outcry Over Extremism.” Tom Jolly, a NYT print editor, tweeted it out Monday and the accompanying story discussed Trump’s comments following two mass shootings over the weekend.
Some on the left, including 2020 Democratic candidates, fired back on Twitter Monday evening condemning the headline for not criticizing Trump enough. The NYT later changed the headline to read, “Assailing Hate But Not Guns,” and the sub-headline read, “Backlash To Extremism Pressures President.”
Tomorrow’s @nytimes tonight: @realDonaldTrump urges unity vs. racism and condemns “slaughters,” but says little about gun control; China employs currency in trade feud, jolting markets. #nytimes pic.twitter.com/krrVxlFUWf
— Tom Jolly (@TomJolly) August 6, 2019
2020 Democratic presidential candidates Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand and Beto O’Rourke condemned The NYT for its original headline. New York Sen. Gillibrand wrote, “That’s not what happened,” and New Jersey Sen. Booker urged The NYT to do better, because “lives literally depend” on it.
Unbelievable. https://t.co/rLgaacttDS
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) August 6, 2019
Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also hit back at the newspaper, calling it “cowardice.”
Let this front page serve as a reminder of how white supremacy is aided by – and often relies upon – the cowardice of mainstream institutions. https://t.co/ynjgtT66yI
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 6, 2019
Wajahat Ali, a contributing op-ed writer for The NYT, called the original headline “terrible.” He later tweeted out that the updated headline was “on point” and told people not to “#CancelNYT,” which became a trending hashtag Tuesday morning on Twitter.
We need newspapers and reporters and investigative journalists and anyone who will hold Trump accountable or else all we'll have is Sinclair, Fox News and right wing media propaganda. Don't #CancelNYT, instead keep demanding we all do better & keep us honest.
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) August 6, 2019
NYT bestselling author Chuck Wendig tweeted that “The NYT is so disappointing,” and Jason Rabinowitz, an author at AirlineReporter, wrote, “Are you [f—ing] kidding me?” in reply to the original headline photo.
Others announced on Twitter that they would be cancelling subscriptions to The NYT over the headline, prompting the hashtag “CancelNYT.” CNN political contributor Joan Walsh tweeted saying she had cancelled her subscription, and Miranda Yaver, a freelance writer, did the same.
I canceled my subscription. I know a lot of folks will tell me I'm wrong. I will miss it. But I can't keep rewarding such awful news judgment. "Trump Urges Unity Against Racism" is almost as bad as their full-page Comey letter coverage just before 2016 election. Nobody learns. https://t.co/FNUyXN9TmB
— Joan Walsh (@joanwalsh) August 6, 2019
Yeah, I really hate canceling subscriptions to major newspapers bc I feel especially protective of journalism right now, but the NYT is making it increasingly difficult to justify rewarding their coverage with a subscription. I'm canceling as well until they come to their senses.
— Miranda Yaver (@mirandayaver) August 6, 2019
Yaver also tweeted out to The NYT, “Are you [f—ing] kidding me?” with a photo of the original headline and explained why she felt it was an “absurd characterization.”
Are you fucking kidding me, @nytimes?
"Trump Urges Unity vs. Racism" is an utterly absurd characterization of how Trump has addressed the mass shootings fueled by his unabashed white supremacy and his party's opposition to gun control. Trump isn't unifying, he is culpable. pic.twitter.com/8Y1UJTIITJ
— Miranda Yaver (@mirandayaver) August 6, 2019
Trump spoke in a press conference Monday about the two weekend mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. He condemned white supremacy and talked about “racist hate.”
“The shooter in El Paso posted a manifesto online consumed by racist hate. In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy,” Trump said Monday. “These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America. Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart and devours the soul.”
He came under fire from many on the left and has been blamed for the weekend’s mass shootings, with some 2020 presidential candidates saying that Trump has promoted white supremacy and hatred.
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