Politics

Majority Of Americans Disagree With How NYT Handled Cotton Op-Ed, Poll Shows

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A majority of Americans did not support The New York Times’ actions regarding Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton’s op-ed, a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found.

The poll, conducted between June 17 and 18, showed that 54% of Americans felt that the op-ed, originally published June 3, did not threaten the safety of black reporters and editors at the Times, while 64% said they support the paper publishing pieces with views that mirror Cotton’s. Fifty-seven percent said it was wrong for the Times to apologize for publishing the piece.

Cotton’s piece, titled “Send in the Troops,” called for the military to be deployed in order to stop violence that had occurred in the wake of protests in cities across the country that stemmed from the death of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody. Employees at the paper said it had endangered the lives of their black colleagues.

While the paper released an explanation as to why it published the article, Cotton’s piece eventually led to the resignation of Times opinion editor James Bennet.

Hey @nytimes, just this afternoon I commended your courage for not giving in to the woke, mindless liberal mob.

Do I need to retract this tweet?

Surely you didn’t allow angry snowflakes to dictate the editorial policies of the @nytimes? https://t.co/Mudzf6kiJU

— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) June 5, 2020

The Times attached an editor’s note June 5 preluding the piece, saying that “given the life-and-death importance of the topic, the senator’s influential position and the gravity of the steps he advocates, the essay should have undergone the highest level of scrutiny.”

The Times did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

The poll surveyed 1,886 registered voters. The Harris Poll avoids the term “margin of error,” and calls it “misleading.”