NYT’s Outrageous Trump Headline Is Getting Run Through The Shredder
The New York Times is being run through the shredder after an overly generous headline about President Donald Trump’s comments about the weekend’s mass shootings.
At least 31 people were killed in separate shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
While Trump on Monday denounced hate and white supremacy, he failed to acknowledge his own long history of hateful and racist rhetoric.
Trump has referred to immigration as an invasion, and last month he told four women of color in Congress to “go back” to their ancestral countries. He also cracked a joke when someone at a rally in Florida suggested shooting immigrants.
The alleged gunman in Texas reportedly shared a manifesto online that used similar language to Trump’s, referring to immigrants as “invaders” and using the phrase “Send them back.”
But the first edition of the Times carried a front-page headline suggesting that the president was attempting to unify the country: “Trump Urges Unity vs. Racism.”
Critics attacked the paper on Twitter, and the headline was changed for the second edition to: “Assailing Hate but Not Guns.”
Tomorrow’s @nytimes tonight, second edition: @realDonaldTrump assails hate but not guns; China employs currency in trade feud, jolting markets. #nytimes pic.twitter.com/1fD4pVEbaF
— Tom Jolly (@TomJolly) August 6, 2019
It’s not clear if the change was the result of the criticism.
Twitter users vented against the paper ― and some said they were canceling their subscriptions and urging others to do the same.
That’s not what happened. https://t.co/m6eIZOARcZ
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) August 6, 2019
Lives literally depend on you doing better, NYT. Please do. https://t.co/L4CpCb8zLi
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) August 6, 2019
I write for the NYT. This is a terrible headline. https://t.co/ODa8SUK9wf
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) August 6, 2019
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
Easily fixed pic.twitter.com/XEYQQeL1i3
— #1 Bagel Lover (@Pugetopia) August 6, 2019
NYT: Please stop sucking when our democracy depends on it. https://t.co/webAcV52p6
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) August 6, 2019
this headline is bad on its own, but it’s particularly confusing because it essentially contradicts the smart piece below it by @alexburnsNYT https://t.co/HWtJHMviC9
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) August 6, 2019
Tomorrow's NYT print edition.
Not sure "TRUMP URGES UNITY VS. RACISM" is how I would have framed the story. pic.twitter.com/quOibXsp32— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) August 6, 2019
The NYT is so disappointing. https://t.co/M6ww8HGvYg
— Chuck Wendig (@ChuckWendig) August 6, 2019
Are you fucking kidding? How can you print this shit?
— Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) August 6, 2019
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
Unbelievable. https://t.co/rLgaacttDS
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) August 6, 2019
They’ve finally gone too far. pic.twitter.com/0CeCPOyQMO
— marisa kabas (@MarisaKabas) August 6, 2019
I often find attacks on the NYT to be overheated and misdirected but this is just terrible. https://t.co/gKaIMmt8nX
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) August 6, 2019
this is just about the worst way the nyt could have handled this story https://t.co/LC1vhMUjsv
— Jack Mirkinson (@jackmirkinson) August 6, 2019
NYT journalism on specific stuff is generally world-class. their columnists (with a couple important exceptions) are mediocre to atrocious. and their political "reporters" are constantly pulling this shit https://t.co/CXGOKNMVX7
— ryan cooper (@ryanlcooper) 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
wow, NYT gives banner headline to Trump’s word salad today; pic.twitter.com/SPLCEhByqe
— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) August 6, 2019
That does it. I don’t care how long I have to be on hold. Canceled. That’s quite enough. https://t.co/68yyj4iPsh
— Street Trash Steadicam (@jamiroqueer) August 6, 2019
That this President could get this headline 2 days after this weekend and more than 2.5 years into his presidency is shocking. They’ll hang this one in the Trump library. https://t.co/JDJjFMHASP
— Patrick Burgwinkle (@Burgwinkle) August 6, 2019
You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. pic.twitter.com/FBvDwzQhPY
— Kate Waters (@K8_Waters) August 6, 2019
“TRUMP CAMPS FOR DISSIDENTS HAVE ART CLASSES” — NYT https://t.co/IFJEtv7coh
— Charlotte Clymer🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) August 6, 2019
To cancel your NYT subscription:
Call 1-800-NYTIMES pic.twitter.com/Be4mu5gtXx— Richard Glass (@ToSayBoldly) August 6, 2019
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.