Newspaper Editor Tells Readers He Must Say Truth About Trump, Even If It Offends
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The editor of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland told readers that critical coverage of Donald Trump is necessary, despite whatever objections they may have.
“The north star here is truth,” Chris Quinn wrote in a letter from the editor on Saturday. “We tell the truth, even when it offends some of the people who pay us for information.”
“The truth is that Donald Trump undermined faith in our elections in his false bid to retain the presidency,” he continued. “He sparked an insurrection intended to overthrow our government and keep himself in power. No president in our history has done worse. This is not subjective. We all saw it.”
Quinn expressed sympathy with Trump fans who are frustrated that their local news source does not “recognize what they see” in the former president. But that won’t stop the coverage, he said.
“The facts involving Trump are crystal clear, and as news people, we cannot pretend otherwise, as unpopular as that might be with a segment of our readers,” he wrote. “There aren’t two sides to facts. People who say the earth is flat don’t get space on our platforms. If that offends them, so be it.”
Quinn wrote that President Joe Biden’s “mindset” and “success” are up for debate, but he cited the “false equivalency” by some readers who equate him to Trump.
“Biden has done nothing remotely close to the egregious, anti-American acts of Trump,” the editor wrote.
Quinn acknowledged the editorial tightrope he walked in writing the letter. “No matter how I present it, I’ll offend some thoughtful, decent people,” he wrote.
Cleveland is the seat of Cuyahoga County, where Biden won 42 of 59 communities and earned 66.4% of the vote in 2020. Trump, however, handily won Ohio overall.
In March polling, the former president held a comfortable lead in the state over Biden for their expected rematch in November.
