You’ve got to love the blatant hypocrisy of the New York Times.
On Sunday, the Times released a vicious hit piece on Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) that included criticisms from his high school prom date and middle school principal.
Then, in a move that displayed the editorial staff’s complete lack of self-awareness, the news outlet tweeted a scathing post on Wednesday condemning Fox News host Tucker Carlson for supposedly "attacking" New York Times reporter Taylor Lorenz on his show.
The Times must have been incredibly desperate to discredit Hawley for them to go back all the way to the early stages of his life to dig up dirt on him. And in this case, they managed to contact several people who seemed all too willing to comply. The hit piece even stated how Hawley’s high school prom date related that she was "very disappointed to see who he has become."
In the piece, designed to explain how Hawley became radicalized into the supposedly far-right figure he's become, Hawley’s middle school principal (who is a Democrat) shared that "The only thing is, I think he had a strict moral upbringing, and I was really disappointed he would suck the country into the lies that Trump told about the election. I just think that's wrong."
The outlet also sneered at the “traditional, patriarchal and churchgoing household” in which Hawley grew up.
Which all begs the questions: how is the opinion of an old high school prom date relevant to Hawley’s political ability? And why expend so much time and effort to discover such useless information? It’s pathetic that a once-reputable news outlet like the New York Times has to resort to personal attacks from childhood figures in order to tarnish Hawley’s reputation.
But when Tucker Carlson on Fox News pointed out the logical inconsistencies in one of their own reporter’s claims, the New York Times was outraged.
On Tuesday’s release of Tucker Carlson Tonight, Carlson lambasted Times reporter Taylor Lorenz for tweeting that she experienced a “harassment and smear campaign” that “destroyed” her life.
For international women’s day please consider supporting women enduring online harassment. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the harassment and smear campaign I’ve had to endure over the past year has destroyed my life. No one should have to go through this.
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) March 9, 2021
Carlson asserted that by all apparent accounts, Lorenz's life is very much intact, and actually going well. He pointed out that she’s managed to secure employment at the New York Times in spite of her young age, putting her “at the very top of journalism’s repulsive little food chain.”
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“You thought female Uyghurs had it bad — you haven’t talked to Taylor Lorenz,” Carlson sarcastically quipped, in reference to China’s horrific genocide of Muslim Uyghurs.
Tucker Carlson opened his show tonight by comparing @TaylorLorenz to Meghan Markle, @MichelleObama and @HillaryClinton saying she has "one of the best lives in the country." pic.twitter.com/fqt0QICNbq
— Sara Pearl (@skenigsberg) March 10, 2021
But apparently, the New York Times believes that only they have the right to revile others and smear their character, and they responded accordingly. The outlet was infuriated by Carlson’s “count your blessings” speech, writing in a statement: “In a now familiar move, Tucker Carlson opened his show last night by attacking a journalist. It was a calculated and cruel tactic, which he regularly deploys to unleash a wave of harassment and vitriol at his intended target.”
Our response to Tuesday night's "Tucker Carlson Tonight" broadcast. pic.twitter.com/LkvaLjcRl5
— NYTimes Communications (@NYTimesPR) March 10, 2021
“Taylor Lorenz is a talented New York Times journalist doing timely and essential reporting. Journalists should be able to do their jobs without facing harassment,” the statement concluded.
First of all, Carlson mocked Lorenz over a personal claim she made publicly, and that had nothing to do with journalistic investigations or her professional endeavors. Secondly, Lorenz’s “essential reporting” covers “social media, online trends, influencers, fandoms, memes, gaming, YouTubers, and and [sic] more,” according to her website.
Good to know that the Times considers fandoms and memes “essential reporting.”
Few news outlets have lacked self-examination as much as the New York Times. First they desperately resort to personal attacks in order to slander a GOP senator; then, they fail to recognize their own reflection in the mirror and harshly castigate Tucker Carlson for ridiculing one of their own.
One knows a newspaper has low standards when they accuse others of using “a calculated and cruel tactic” without realizing that they utilize the exact same method.
(Cover Photo: Gage Skidmore)