Washington Post Faces Outrage After Minimizing Trump’s Accusations Against Harris

Julie Rodin Zebrak, a veteran D.C. attorney and political consultant, echoed Jarvis’s sentiments, supporting those standing up for Harris.

Norm Ornstein, an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and renowned author, labeled the piece “disgraceful,” according to Raw Story.

Mother Jones editor David Corn chimed in, criticizing the neutral language used by the Post. “‘Questioning’ is a neutral verb,” Corn stated. “This doesn’t convey Trump’s racism.”

Political affairs analyst and businessman David Rothkopf highlighted a broader issue in journalism, emphasizing the responsibility media outlets have in accurately portraying racism, lies, and criminal behavior.

“If journalists do not call racists racists, liars liars, and criminals criminals, they are actively aiding the racists, liars, and criminals by minimizing or recasting and normalizing the indefensible. And it happens every day,” Rothkopf asserted.

Eventually, the Washington Post altered its headline to “Trump’s attack on Harris’s racial identity moves contest into new phase.” However, Jeff Jarvis remained unimpressed, arguing that the new headline was still insufficient.

“The Post rewrote this headline and made it worse insofar as it backed farther away from just telling the truth: Trump made a racist attack on Harris,” Jarvis wrote. “‘Contest into new phase’? That is the editors’ attempt to say less: i.e., nothing. The Post is broken.”

Jarvis further criticized what he described as an overarching editorial failure, pointing out other problematic headlines from the same story.

“‘Tussle.’ ‘Raucous.’ No, racist. If the editor and publisher do not know or cannot bear to tell the truth, they need to go. This is not an entertainment story. It is the essence of the United States. My kindest interpretation is that these British news executives don’t know. More likely and worse, they choose not to.”

Despite modifying the controversial headline, The Washington Post’s initial response drew massive backlash on social media. Numerous users shared their dismay and disappointment, emphasizing the critical role of journalism in accurately representing racially charged incidents and holding figures of power accountable for their words.