There was a lot of condemnation concerning a recent New York Times headline about President Trump’s remarks on the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton drew condemnation. Some Democratic presidential candidates lashed out at the paper as well and the article was subsequently changed late Monday.
The newspaper summarized Trump’s comments, in which he denounced hate and white supremacy, with the headline “Trump Urges Unity vs. Racism” on the front page of its first edition.
A photograph of Tuesday’s first edition was tweeted out by journalist Nate Silver Monday night. It was quickly slammed by critics who accused The Gray Lady of inaccurately representing Trump’s comments.
Some Twitter users threatened to cancel their subscriptions and urged others to do the same.
“I canceled my subscription,” tweeted author and CNN contributor Joan Walsh, adding, “I can’t keep rewarding such awful news judgement.”
Prominent Democrats in D.C. also took aim at the Times, including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“Let this front page serve as a reminder of how white supremacy is aided by – and often relies upon – the cowardice of mainstream institutions,” the freshman congresswoman tweeted.
Presidential candidates also took aim at the headline. Many of them blamed Trump’s rhetoric for the El Paso, Texas, shooting that left at least 22 dead, also decried the headline.
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand tweeted, “That’s not what happened.”
“Lives literally depend on you doing better, NYT. Please do,” wrote Sen. Cory Booker.
A photograph of the Times’ second edition of the front page hours later revealed that the headline had been changed to “Assailing Hate But Not Guns.” Its website also showed a similar headline: “Trump Condemns Bigotry but Doesn’t Call for Major New Guns Laws.”
It’s not clear, however, if the headline change was in response to the backlash. The New York Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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