James Bennet has resigned as The New York Times opinion editor after receiving immense backlash from the publication of Republican Sen. Tom Cotton’s op-ed about sending in the troops to quell the protests, CNN reported.
Among those upset were members of the publication’s own staff, who signed a letter calling for Bennet’s resignation after he let the piece go to print. Publisher A.G. Sulzberger confirmed that Bennet had stepped down in a memo sent to staff on Sunday.
“While this has been a painful week across the company, it has sparked urgent and important conversations,” Sulzberger wrote.
Aside from Bennet, Jim Dao, who oversaw the editing of the piece as a deputy editorial page editor, was reassigned to another department. Katie Kingsbury, who also worked as a deputy editorial page editor, will reportedly handle the editorial page for now, at least through the upcoming presidential election.
The controversy started with Cotton’s piece, titled “Send In the Troops,” which argued that the president could use the Insurrection Act to send military forces into states protesting police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
While the article was published in the opinion section of the publication, many staff members from both the opinion and news sides felt the piece was insensitive and spoke out against it.
According to CNN , the piece and the surrounding controversy ignited a conversation about “systemic racial biases and diversity inside the newsroom.”
An unnamed staffer told the outlet that the conversations were about a lot more than having a “diverse staff” but also touched on “larger issues regarding race and ‘The Times’ role in society.”
Initially, Bennet did defend publishing Cotton’s op-ed but eventually recanted and said it was a mistake. He “blamed a break down in the editorial process for the blunder.”
There have been other serious missteps during Bennet’s tenure. Sulzberger acknowledged that the former editor has been present amid past controversies, including when the Time s “fumbled” a story regarding the allegations of misconduct against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Additional public relations disasters include conservative columnist Bret Stephens’ inflammatory Twitter comments and the publication of an anti-Semitic cartoon last April.
“James and I agreed that it would take a new team to lead the department through a period of considerable change,” Sulzberger wrote.
Cotton has been outspoken about his op-ed allegedly not meeting the outlet’s standards. He told Fox News that he felt the newspaper had succumbed to a “mob of woke kids.”
He followed up his tirade by saying his piece exceeded the paper’s standards, “which are normally full of left-wing, sophomoric drivel.”
Donald Trump also lashed out at The New York Times on Sunday. He tweeted that Bennet had walked out “over the excellent” opinion piece written by Cotton. He concluded his message by labeling the publication as “Fake News.”
Opinion Editor at @nytimes just walked out. That’s right, he quit over the excellent Op-Ed penned by our great Senator @TomCottonAR . TRANSPARENCY! The State of Arkansas is very proud of Tom. The New York Times is Fake News!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2020
