Politics & Government
NY Times Demotes Editor Who Suggested Minneapolis Not In Midwest
The editor made a similar crack about Detriot, Michigan.
MINNEAPOLIS — The New York Times has demoted the editor who suggested on Twitter that Minneapolis, the largest city in the state of Minnesota, should not be considered part of the Midwest.
The statement came in response to this tweet from Waleed Shahid:
“Free stuff from the government does not play well in the Midwest.” -Claire McCaskill 1) @RashidaTlaib + @IlhanMN are also from the Midwest. 2) Medicare and Social Security are both technically “free stuff” and they play very well.pic.twitter.com/tkFtRoI0W7
— Waleed Shahid (@_waleedshahid) July 31, 2019
Jonathan Weisman — then the deputy Washington editor of the New York Times — tweeted this in reply to Shahid:
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"Saying Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minneapolis) are from the Midwest is like saying Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) is from Texas or John Lewis (D-Atlanta) is from the Deep South. C’mon."
The Deputy Washington Editor of the New York Times, Jonathan Weisman, is on a roll. Last week, he claimed (since deleted) Rashida Tlaib (from Detroit, currently repping MI-13) was not from Midwest & John Lewis (from Alabama, currently repping GA-5) was not from the Deep South: pic.twitter.com/A7SJoyk5mG
— Super Street Matunos II: Championship Edition (@matunos) August 8, 2019
Weisman saw a fierce backlash to the comment, which was criticized as racist.
They literally are, &this comment is what erasure looks like. HIGH TURNOUT from DEEP BLUE SEATS &being competitive everywhere is the core of a winning strategy. It’s disturbing to see this Trump talking pt that dense, diverse communities “aren’t the REAL [America/Midwest/etc].” https://t.co/S97RillWbU
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 31, 2019
this will certainly be news to people of Minnesota’s 5th District! https://t.co/Im31ERKtW0
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) July 31, 2019
He later deleted the tweet.
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After a meeting with Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The Times, a decision was made to demote Weisman, stripping him of the the title of "deputy editor."
Weisman apologized for his comments on social media, according to the Times, stating that: "I accept Dean’s judgment. I think he’s right to do what he’s doing. I embarrassed the newspaper, and he had to act."
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