In The News

Politico Staff Freaks Out After Ben Shapiro Authors Playbook

https://dailycaller.com/

Politico is defending its decision to allow the Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro to write Thursday’s Politico Playbook after staff spoke out against Shapiro.

“Opposition to impeachment comes from a deep and abiding conservative belief that members of the opposing political tribe want their destruction, not simply to punish Trump for his behavior,” Shapiro wrote.

“Republicans believe that Democrats and the overwhelmingly liberal media see impeachment as an attempt to cudgel them collectively by lumping them in with the Capitol rioters thanks to their support for Trump.”

His participation in Thursday’s Playbook sparked a backlash internally among Politico staff who said that Shapiro should not have been allowed to guest-write the newsletter. The Daily Beast reported that one staffer said in a Politico company-wide Slack channel that Shapiro has a “long history of bigoted and incendiary commentary.”

“It has clearly generated a wave of negative attention, and I fear it’s already overshadowing a lot of great work being done by journalists across this newsroom,” the staffer said, according to the Daily Beast. Several dozen of this staffer’s Politico colleagues reportedly upvoted this comment.

Another staffer reportedly responded to this comment saying, “This is especially confusing given the newsroom’s welcome efforts over the last year to cover issues related to race in a more intentional, elevated, thoughtful way.’

Politico defended its decision in a statement released Thursday.

“We have taken great care to assemble a roster of guest authors who are prominent thinkers and writers and represent a range of perspectives,” the statement said, according to Washington Post media critic Erik Wemple. “What sets Politico apart in this intense political and media moment is that we rise above partisanship and ideological warfare — even as many seek to drag us into it.”

“It’s a core value of the publication that is unchangeable, and that above all protects our ability to do independent journalism,” the statement continued. “It’s a part of our mission.”

Top editor Matt Kaminski also told staffers in a Thursday meeting that Politico stands “by every word in there,” noting that it was “very closely edited,” according to the Daily Beast.

“Mischief making has always been a part of Politico’s secret sauce,” he added. “We were an upstart. Some of that sensibility is always going to be a part of this publication.”

Shapiro tweeted that the backlash over his appearance in Playbook proves his point on censorship.

“People losing their s*** over me writing @politico Playbook this morning are pretty much proving my point,” he tweeted. “So keep at it guys, you’re doing great!”

Politico did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org

Support Conservative Daily News with a small donation via Paypal or credit card that will go towards supporting the news and commentary you've come to appreciate.

Related Articles

2 Comments

  1. Snowflakes. They sound like soldiers and workers committees from the Soviet Revolution and even they weren’t such delicate snowflakes. What is the matter with people??? Can’t they even hear a different viewpoint without having a conniption fit? What are they afraid of? The truth?

  2. Shapiro hit the nail on the head and Politico gets my kudos for being open in an honest cross-cultural moment. However, the exercise drmatized how unrealistic it may be to expect Leftists to listen to the truth about how they create and sustain dystrophy throughout the culture. In this case, by using the word dystrophy I am making reference to the ecological condition observed in many bodies of water where the oxygen content is depleted and normal life is not possible. Truth and openness and freedom are synonymous to anoxia, the condition that often exists in the depths of large lakes.

Back to top button